Sometimes when we watch a music video, we are simply looking for a way to escape, not a story plot to have to follow. Who wants to have to learn about another couple’s love struggles, when you experience your own? Well, not us, so we choose to stick to videos similar to Shine 2009’s for the tune “Graduation,” when our burdens are just too overwhelming.

The Finnish duo’s latest video is off their full-length debut album, ‘Realism’, which dropped via Cascine. The “Graduation” music video can be viewed over at YouTube or at the Consequence of Sound premiere. Directed by D.V. Caputo, the video is as abstract as the tune sounds. With all the tempos and different vocal styles, you would think the song would get a bit overwhelming, but that is far from the case. “Graduation” has that contemporary rhythm we often hear in “house” music tracks, but the tune also exudes an old-soul infused tempo that causes us to imagine it as one we might hear on a television show like “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.” The video complements these contrasting musical qualities of the song by mixing various shapes, colors and figures into a single music video. Overall, the audio and visual effects of “Graduation” fit like a glove.

If this post is the first time you have heard of Shine 2009, you have some catching up to do. Start with the duo’s first single, “So Free,” which features Paula Abdul.

by Lonnie Nemiroff