Video: Esmé Patterson, ‘No River’

Kevin Bronson on June 22nd, 2016

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Esmé Patterson was a principal in the long-running Denver folk outfit Paper Bird and has released three engaging solo albums, including “We Were Wild,” which came out earlier this month via Grand Jury. Still, she’s probably best known for her collaboration on the Shakey Graves hit “Dearly Departed.” Her new album might change that; it’s a collection of smart pop-Americana with the muscle to match its spirit. The video for the song “No River,” directed by David Fishel and choreographed by Carlye Eckert, finds Patterson singing “I can’t keep running / I’m no river” as she is being pulled by ropes from one. Ultimately, it’s about simply being human. Or, as the Portland-based singer-songwriter told NPR, where the video premiered: “It’s about the freedom that we can find when we surrender to the realization that we are mortal. By understanding that we are dying, we also understand that we are alive in this very moment. I wanted to represent these themes visually in the music video: the strength and vulnerability of the body, the circadian rhythm of life, the dance with nature, life as a dance.”

||| Watch: The video for “I’m Human”