Words by LaTasha Brown
Within a year, indie rock band Wild Belle has caught the attention of many – first with their track “Keep You,” then with “Take Me Away.” Eventually, Wild Belle’s Natalie and Elliot Bergman signed a three-album record deal with Columbia Records, and the rest is pretty much history. Life has happened fast for the band.
Recently, the Chicago brother-sister duo spent a week in Kingston, Jamaica filming a video for that first single “Keep You,” with director Melina Matsoukas. The “Keep You” video is a story of love, resentment, and betrayal. Melina described it as “a story about unrequited love and how with age, we don’t necessarily mature.”
The video is cool and sultry in true island rhythm, yet a bit discomforting. Not because the lyrics are inappropriate, but because Little Man (a young boy) and his adult caregiver are portrayed as lovers. As awkward as it may seem, I like the weirdness. it’s uncomfortable, but so is any love story, right?
It’s obvious that Wild Belle is unique and interesting, but that’s probably why this band have claimed attention so effortlessly.
Keep You is on their debut album, Isles, an appropriate title, given the band’s retro, reggae-infused influence. Wild Belle will begin touring this month, until early next year, just in time for their album release in March 2013. -LaTasha Brown
