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After the success of Maya Yenn’s third single, “Better Luck Next Time”, a playful pop song with an urgent message, the artist has followed up with a theatrical, self-directed music video full of bright colours, clownish characters, whimsical choreography and whiskey sours.
The opening is straight out of film noir. A spotlight illuminates Yenn in an oversized, gaudy blue suit, her red hair swept back like a 50s teddy boy. Suddenly tungsten lights flick on, and the illusion is shattered. The frame expands, flooding with colour as Yenn rolls her eyes, “My boss is gonna kill me”. The camera pulls back to reveal an abandoned warehouse. Alongside colourful characters, Yenn breaks into choreography that grotesquely echoes the gestures of business moguls. It makes you want to dance along with them.
The story was written by Yenn herself, and the movement was directed by LYNNEBEC, a multidisciplinary performance company working across a myriad of creative mediums.
The song itself is a darkly satirical analogy for hustle culture written from the perspective of a young businessman who has prioritised his career above everything else
The song itself is a darkly satirical analogy for hustle culture written from the perspective of a young businessman who has prioritised his career above everything else, so much so, he’s still trying to get a report out even while his aeroplane is going down over the Atlantic Ocean. It brings a whole new meaning to the word “deadline”.
“It’s an analogy for late-stage capitalism, modern working conditions and how disastrous this blinkered thinking is for humanity and our environment” says Yenn.
In her third self-directed music video, Yenn breaks into choreography that grotesquely echoes the gestures of business moguls alongside an array of colourful characters
The song has already seen wide acclaim and was picked up by Tom Robinson for the BBC Introducing Mixtape and was Gemma Bradley’s BBC Introducing Pick of the Week on BBC Radio One. Meanwhile, Yenn’s previous self-directed music video for her sophomore release, “How Much Sadness Can You Swallow?” won “Best Music Video” at the British Independent Film Festival, Liverpool Film Festival and the Liverpool Independent Awards this year.
In the “Better Luck Next Time” music video, we see Yenn’s Businessman as he navigates incoming deadlines, his boss’s wrath and struggles to maintain a relationship with his girlfriend. The video ends ominously in an unexpected turn as the scene is filled with an eerie red light and the camera pulls back on the group as they stand looking out beyond the emergency exit agape.
“The intention was that while these characters have been so concerned with their deadlines and reports, the world has been going up in flames around them, they can’t ignore it anymore and all their petty power-plays suddenly seem totally trivial” explains Yenn.
The entire video was achieved in just four shots filmed in one afternoon
The track gives a fleeting nod to the swing singers of yesteryear through the watery brass and barely-surfacing orchestral moments, even the title, “Better Luck Next Time” seems reminiscent of the twee, saccharine kind of song titles you’d expect from Frank Sinatra or Bob Hope some seven decades ago. Choosing such a glib title for a song that paints a picture of a very bleak future feels emblematic of our time. With the globe on the brink of environmental disaster and slow-to-catch-up carbon neutral policies we can keep saying, “we’ll get it right next time” but at some point there just isn’t going to be a next time.
The entire video was achieved in just four shots filmed in one afternoon. It's an ambitious feat that a small team managed to pull off with a tiny budget. It’s clear that Yenn’s team had a lot of fun on set and that infectious energy shows in the final cut; the joy jumping off the screen is tangible. A wry comment on hustle culture in Maya Yenn’s trademark juxtaposition of dark and satirical.
“The intention was that while these characters have been so concerned with their deadlines and reports, the world has been going up in flames around them” explains Yenn
For immediate release
Official music video credits:
Cast:
Businessman: Maya Yenn
Boss: Connor Brooks
Waiter: Jessica Barber
Girlfriend: Cat Butler
Crew:
Written and Directed by: Maya Yenn
Movement Direction: LYNNEBEC
Cinematography and Editing: James Langley
Colourist: Chris Frankland
First Camera Assistant: Thomas Fitter
Second Camera Assistant: Naomi Henderson
Special thanks to:
The New Strand Studio
John Heney
Liz Weir MBE
Jessica George
Holly Holdsworth
Maria Buckley
Harry Trow
Song credits:
Written by: Maya Yenn
Produced by: Maya Yenn and Michelangelo Dousis
Mixed by: Michelangelo Dousis
Mastered by: Alex Gordon, Abbey Road Studios
Watch the official music video here.
"Better Luck Next Time" is available to stream/download on all platforms