Watch Holly Arrowsmith's Video For New Single 'Neon Bright'

“Sadness wants to talk? Well, put her on the line”. Finalist for the 2024 APRA Best Country Music Song Award for her song ‘Desert Dove’, Holly Arrowsmith figuratively beckons to the weeping phone in her latest song 'Neon Bright', a balmy, alt pop / country cousin to the Arrowtown songsmith’s usual work. Made with support from NZ On Air, the accompanying music video features guest appearances from Amiria Grenell, Chris Wethey, Delaney Davidson, Naomi Haussman and Jessie Shanks. 

In recording the single, producer / guitarist Tom Healy (Tiny Ruins), bassist Cass Basil, strings player Anita Clark (Motte) and drummer Alex Freer (A.C. Freazy) came together to continue Arrowsmith’s exploration of Americana music. Arrowsmith’s voice can be compared to the rousing lull of one Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval. It’s further enlightened by the sound of the dobro — a shiny, single cone resonator guitar which Arrowsmith wields in the video. 

With alluringly warm colour grading from Loren Kett, director Robyn Jordaan visually depicts themes of depersonalisation where Arrowsmith’s playing of instruments is taken over by someone else each time. It all builds towards a classic Spaghetti Western standoff with a familiar face in our music community…

"I had this idea of being manoeuvred around by other hands, helping me to play the instruments, fix my face, stand up, and look ahead. I wanted to show the loss of vitality in this character: The feelings aren’t bad, they are just trying to serve a purpose. In the end I have a standoff with Delaney Davidson, the perfect cowboy villain, whose attempts to intimidate me go unnoticed. I love this trope in Western movies, and we gave it our own design with a spinning plinth instead of a dusty street. The heroine finds courage again, to turn face to face with this charading character, to see it for what it is."

‘Neon Bright’ is out today on major streaming platforms.