Premiere: sign crushes motorist shares evocative video to slowcore track 'Better'

sign crushes motorist, aka 18 year-old Liam McCay, has shared the video for his song 'Better.'

Directed by New York-based filmmaker and animator Lin You — including extra footage from Iain Delavan — the deftly arranged film was shot on analogue, with additional hand animation and mark-making, in dark, monochromatic hues which mirror the track's melancholic airs.

"Talking with Liam and learning about his upbringing invited me to tell a familiar story; the feeling of being totally lost as a kid navigating their childhood, yearning, hoping, running — it's a universal experience, and something I experienced first-hand when I first moved to America from my hometown," the director reflects.  "I'd create drawings of different machines – creatures – combinations of both, and I'd escape into the nooks and crannies of their world, staying up past midnight just to write pages and pages of stories for every one of them."

Credit: Lin You

"This music video is a somewhat literal interpretation of 'sign crushes motorist' - what if a sign crushed a young motorist, and he was brought to life in the form of his crude little drawings?"

Hailing from Buncrana, sign crushes motorist has garnered millions of streams on Spotify for his infectious, enthralling soundscapes which pedal a similar velveteen softness to Duster or Galaxie 500. But it is the artist's indigo-soaked, minimalist arrangements and deeply personal lyricism which set him apart from his slowcore peers.