British art-poppers Django Django cover a lot of ground, from the angular New Wave dance of “Hail Bop” to the buzzing surf thrum of “Life’s a Beach,” but no matter what they set their minds to, the end result is consistently enthralling. The same could be said for their music videos, which seem to morph in both medium and style depending on the song’s direction.
“Hand of Man” is another highlight from the quartet’s 2012 debut, Django Django, but it’s a mellow slice of lightly psych’d folk. Fittingly, the clip is black and white, and begins with David Maclean strumming an acoustic guitar on a couch at a very ’70s-style warehouse party. His brother and former Beta Band member John Maclean directs, and soon transports us to a surreal picnic. After, of course, David literally melts into the furniture.
Shot on Super 8, the film is meant to be about the “end of great things,” John told Nowness. “It was the last day in our friend’s building, which will inevitably be knocked down to make way for more dodgy flats with tiny triangle balconies.” Regarding the song itself, David explained, “It’s a little ditty about the idea of going back in time to the beginning of mankind and taking the hand of humanity to guide us forward … to the present day, avoiding the slip-ups we’ve made along the way.” Which can be the only explanation for the fact that he’s still able to give interviews after melting into that table like a candle in a sauna.
