KYTLY - "Neverending"

Summer may be fast approaching, but fans of KYTLY might still want to don their big coat for the Canadian indie-pop singer’s winter-themed video for her new single Neverending.

The video features KYTLY in various snowy, foggy forest-based landscapes as the hypnotic and ethereal single works a magic on the audience’s eardrums. Blending in to a sheer white background whilst wearing a mesmerizing, Monroe-esque dress in one moment, forming one with the nature-based setting in another, viewers will get a sense that the singer is as much a part of the background as they are a participant in it. Unnerving scenes in which she is trapped beneath a frozen lake, or seemingly fading away into the vapour matches the single’s morose tone as KYTLY tries to establish which parts of a fading relationship were genuine, and which were illusions.

As a visual experience, Neverending is a thoughtful and impressive treat. The director’s lucid use of a gleaming whites and foreboding greys as the video’s colour scheme presents the setting as a void-like, timeless and otherworldly space. At other times the natural features of snow-covered, leafless trees and frozen lakes base the video in a rural setting. But regardless, the sensation viewers will have is that KYTLY is isolated and desolate – trapped in an environment alone in which outside influence has no bearing, and truths can be identified – albeit up against harsh and testing conditions.

The direction of Virginia Ambramovich, production of Laura Keightley and photography of Nelson Rogers results in some stunning and memorable shots that amplify the intricate and delicate lyrical structure of the song. Amongst the finest of these are the scenes in which KYTLY appears entrapped behind a translucent wall of fog, which later metamorphizes into a frozen lake - in which she is drowning. Whilst it’s not the most original of imagery, the haunting presentation and context with the single’s themes make it impressive-yet-understated example of how a great music video can take a song’s message and bring it to life. The repeated use of fading similarly creates a sense of unbalance, transformation, uncertainty and instability – matching the emotional journey many of us experience when relationships are ending.

Where so many music videos resort to tired and recycled frameworks in the streaming age, the video for KYTLY’s Neverending shows that creativity and ingenuity can still be attained in the genre. It brilliantly captures the song’s themes and tone, whilst introducing engaging, metaphorical storytelling to visualise the music’s heart and message.