Once in a lifetime there’s an idol group that comes along that really captures a wide range of genres, styles, concepts, and moods in a way that seems effortless and perfect.  There are several groups that have attempted this, usually with various results. And while some come off very well, others are simply crosseyed and painless.Others miss the mark entirely, slipping off the map onto a road to nowhere.

But I’m going to declare that bar none, YOU’LL MELT MORE! do it better than anybody, mixing everything from sax and violins and punk rock and bubbly pop in a beautiful stew of incredibly fun music. And with their Talking Hits EP, they offered their  take on new wave, giving us a fresh peek into their wild wild life….

So today we’re looking at “NEW WAVE STAR” from the aforementioned EP! Right off, the immediate thing I love about it is the weird 80’s video look that ultra-high-def cameras often create. Plus those kooky local television special effects! This MV looks like a forgotten VHS you find in a box of random mementos and stay up late watching intently.

In a homage to Talking Heads’ most famous music video, the background flashes with random footage of tribal dancers, but it also includes some spliced in footage of the 1942 technicolor film adaption of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book. (Which is a gorgeous film, by the way.  As a matter of fact, it was originally going to be shot in England, but the production moved to Hollywood due to WW2, because this is the sort of thing that happens with life during wartime.)

But my favorite part of the MV is actually the offbeat extended scene after the song ends, with the group on a rooftop, doing the kind of interpretive dancing that would make David Byrne proud. Even Ano, who often looks like a psycho killer, is having a good time! Watching this, I thought to myself “I bet Chiffon had a blast dancing like that“… and she was! Meanwhile Younapi and Kechon are totally burning down the house with their sweet dance steps. I really would’ve loved it if this surreal vignette just went on for like a another 20 minutes or so. After all, once you stop making sense, you might as well run with it!

The group continued their whole love letter to Talking Heads all the way to the terrific graphic design tribute on the CD cover.  You’d be blind not to appreciate it. Check out that cool image of the girls flying above the mountain tops! Sigh, I wish they would pick me up and carry me off… I’d happily ask them to take me to the river.

I have to say, watching all these MVs and working on this project has really cemented YOU’LL MELT MORE! as one of my absolute favorite groups. I hope they’re one of your favorites too, but I don’t want to to be too pushy in forcing them on you. You’re allowed to have your own favorite group, and to argue over who has the best oshis is as counterproductive as two dude bros arguing over whose girlfriend is better.

Oh, one last thing! If you see happen to see them at Monster of Dolls, should you bring them a gift? If you do, keep it simple and understated, okay? I suggest that you give them (nothing but) flowers.