Deptford Goth - Union

When it comes to videos, there’s certainly a time and a place for artists who strive for mercuriality – but there’s also something to be said for those who look to build on previous work and form a visual staple. Deptford Goth captures this with his second self-made video for Union, a track set to appear on his debut album next year. It keeps close to the template used for this year’s Life After Defo – flashing up snippets of lyrics and interspersing reflective shots of himself with more busied, layered visuals.

Sound-wise, Union sees the London artist continue to evolve from the bedroom electronics of debut EP ‘Youth II’, into a direction that feels altogether more expansive and alive. While Deptford Goth’s world sometimes feels burdened with an overbearing sadness, Union seems to have an air of far-off hopefulness: encapsulated by the impossible yearns expressed in the line “I belong with everyone I’ve ever known”, which flicker onto the screen captivatingly. With the Union video you sense you’re in the hands of an artist whose taken his time to perfect his aesthetic: its central image sees him being dragged around by some by balloons tied around his wrists, arms lifted subserviently. It seems to risk looking farcical, but instead becomes a neat visualisation of Union’s intense emotional landscape.

Merok will release Deptford Goth’s debut album in early 2013.