Not exactly sure how the entire world missed this one. Very quietly sometime last week Alex Zhang Hungtai a.k.a. Dirty Beaches posted the final product of one of his dreams come true: a music video directed by Tsien-Tsien Zhang with cinematography by Christopher Doyle. Mr. Doyle is of course the man who helped give legendary Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai’s films their distinct look with his fast & loose approach to shooting. The result of this unique technique gives the work a very natural, human perspective. You quickly forget you are even watching a film and sink deep into the world they create.

Doyle & Kar-wai’s collaborations include a long list of masterpieces such as Chungking Express (1994), Fallen Angels (1995), Happy Together (1997), In the Mood for Love (2000), etc, etc. The video for “White Sand” feels very much like a vignette from one of these films with its voyeuristic, fly-on-the-wall approach, moody drifting shots and abundant (but mild) NSFWisms. It’s clear with the absence of >tired tropical tropes, that is to say the imagery that indie-rock has beyond pillaged in the last few years, that “White Sand” stands as simply a state of mind.

In the days where most young bands use old sourced footage to make quick videos on the cheap in a fast grab, the impact might not be as heavy seeing something so eloquent, warm grainy and hypnotic. Your connectopathic brain is trained to think that something so beautiful could not possibly be original. However when you are informed that this is original footage, shot and directed by professionals specifically to accompany the music it takes on a whole new life and meaning. We are simply not used to seeing this type of thing attempted by unsigned bands in the underground.