Reviewed by Ramona Prioleau

“Blinding Lights,” the second single from The Weeknd’s album “After Hours,” took a world that was trapped inside by storm. Complete with crunchy, 80s-style synths and a melody that features a classic Weeknd vocal style. The music video, released alongside the single, was directed by Sweedish director Anton Tammi.

The video opens with The Weeknd covered in blood, a crazed look in his eyes. It then goes back in time to show the series of events that led to that moment, events that include (but are certainly not limited to) him driving around recklessly, getting into a fight with two bouncers, and staying high the whole time.

There’s a narrative to it, but not necessarily a cohesive one. As the Weeknd playfully explores a seemingly abandoned Las Vegas, the video almost turns into a puzzle for the viewer to solve. It’s a frantic, frenetic, and hallucinogenic experience and, like many of the best music videos around, it’s better viewed as a tonal collaboration with the song rather than some explicit explanation of the song’s lyrics.

Some shots show The Weeknd driving through a neon city, smoking a cigarette and dancing in the street. Other shots have a grainy, VHS-like filter on them. One sequence sees a lounge singer move The Weeknd telekinetically through the air. In another scene, the song and the visuals slow and, like an overstimulated, drug-addled brain, the flashes of images become blurred and hard to follow.

All these differing styles and narrative points come together in the video’s editing. Janne Vartia and Tim Montana, the editors on the music video, are a big reason why the clip is effective as it is. Quick and ceaseless, one barely has time to even parse out what they’re looking at before the video cuts away to another, unrelated shot. It makes the whole experience feel connected and disconnected all at once, creating a feeling not unlike the one that the song’s lyrics describe. It quite literally is blinding.

“Blinding Lights” is a follow-up to The Weeknd’s previous music video “Heartless,” which was released a number of months before. Along with other videos made for After Hours (all also directed by Anton Tammi) it creates a cinematic universe of sorts. There’s a cohesive story to be sussed out, but all the videos work wonders on their own as well, “Blinding Lights” especially. The video is a crazy, psychotic experience—the only type of experience that could match the untamed energy of the song. M

January 2020