Following the release of their EP It’s All Been a Mess, Nice-based band MALT LIQUOR have unveiled the video for “The Mess”, the record’s centerpiece and a defining statement of their alternative rock identity.
Conceived as a nocturnal journey through a malfunctioning version of Google Earth, the video takes us through a series of anonymous locations viewed through an impossible form of Street View: always at night, populated by strange characters and absurd situations, somewhere between dark humour and contemporary surrealism.
As the digital journey unfolds, the camera moves through deserted skateparks suddenly filled with hostile figures, solemn funerals for doves, amusement park mascots smoking cigarettes while staring into the distance, improvised LAN parties under bus shelters, and families travelling in caravans receiving Uber Eats deliveries in the middle of nowhere.
At key moments in the song, the Street View footage shifts into a cinematic image, recreating the exact framing of the photograph seen in the previous shot. The characters suddenly come to life, with the band appearing within these strange tableaux to perform the song. This constant transition between stillness and movement becomes the video’s narrative engine, echoing the central idea of “The Mess”: moving through a world that has become increasingly strange without ever losing momentum.
Created through a combination of 360° footage, cinematic shots and digital transitions inspired by the movements of Google Street View, the video builds a world where the absurdity of everyday life meets the raw energy of MALT LIQUOR’s rock sound.
Hailing from Nice, MALT LIQUOR continue the trajectory they established with their debut EP, which was notably praised by Tsugi as part of “the return of rock”.
Drawing equally from Anglo-Saxon rock, hip-hop and electronic textures, the four-piece deliver music that feels tense, urgent and instinctive. Following the singles “Best Memories” and “On My Mind”, both of which received airplay on France Inter and were played by OUI FM, “The Mess” emerges as the defining track of the project: a direct confrontation with the chaos of the world and its own fractures, driven by nervous guitars, raw energy and a fierce determination to keep moving forward.