Sweet Tooth is a celebration of love, and also a playful cautionary tale for those with too much sugar in their lives. And when I say sugar, I mean honeys, partners, sweethearts. The video opens with Sam Austins on a retro bed lounging in silver printed gown and purple shorts under the cream silky sheets. It’s a vision of luxury. A far cry from his humble beginnings with EP HOMELESS STAR. This is a Sam Austins who has made it. The video’s track comes off his recent psych-rock EP Boy Toy that arrived last month.
Hazy filters on the video gives its narrative a daydream-like feeling. So do the lights that strobe through the screen cutting up the images, blocking our view of the musician, reminding us this is his fantasy world which we are peaking into. Colour is important to Sam Austins. He explained, there has been a shift from his early releases from muted blue and dark green to his new brash bombastic Matador-era videos featuring bright orange, yellow and red. This video sits on the colourful side of the spectrum that really evokes the fun and glam side of the artist. Decadent silvers, reds and rich purples are colours of royalty and romance that enrich the visual world of this video.
The luxury, as well as the multiple women, featuring in this daydream seem all too perfect. This is the kind of daydream that descends into a nightmare. The romantic song about the complex world of dating, getting chills, and a woman going from being there when “she’s not around” to being needed “either way it goes” features four starlets all donning glossy red lip-gloss rather than one. These ladies are date-ready and they are all seemingly prospects for Sam Austins. The hareem of women invite Sam Austins to a feast which is a recipe for disaster.
Flirtingly the women feed Austins strawberries, indulging the performer and his fantasies but then a red cocktail is passed over to him. Next is a quick shot of one of the sweethearts brandishing a large kitchen knife and his demise is plotted. Poisoned by the hand of what appears to be one of his lovers, or at least potential lovers, a sweet tooth for sugars comes with a risk. Dramatically dying at the hand of a woman recalls the poignant lyrics about feeling rejected. But this rejection came with some chemistry to begin with – and with a lot of women. A ruckus food fight and gorging session ensues with Sam’s head on the table as one of the many indulgent dishes the girls and himself are consuming. Sam Austins has been described by Pusha T as “a mix between My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Prince” and he lives up to the impressive description. This video creates a fusion of eighties glam with something edgier and contemporary. Not to be missed.
