Premiere: Lee Watson loses grip on reality in ‘Falling South’ video

Whether you write, sculpt, paint, knit or strum an acoustic guitar, creativity is bound to pull your mind into a world that is truly invigorating. It’s limitless, and you can uncover parts of yourself and the world you had previously deemed impossible. Wandering down a trail, scouring and collecting images as a child does on an Easter egg hunt and perhaps stumbling onto an even grander adventure, Americana storyteller Lee Watson illustrates his journey in the psychedelic video for “Falling South,” a cut from his 2017 self-titled debut record. Premiering today, the sequence is a vibrant cobblestone work of art, diving into the furthest tide-pools of imagination and conjuring up absurdist extremes of nature and a twisted rearranging of reality and experience.

“Through the rocks and rails, I can catch the sky / With a steady stroke and a knowing eye,” he proposes with a remarkable calmness, paired with a slow-burn of guitar, lap steel and percussion. The pictures float into and out of each other, as if it’s an existential stage play trying to understand the basics of humanity. It breathes on its own, and even the song’s iciness can’t keep the warmth at bay. “[The song] is about losing yourself in the creative process ⎯⎯ forgetting what’s around you and finding a place where there’s no distractions,” he tells B-Sides & Badlands. “The visuals reflect what the song is about. We chose a Group of Seven theme [see here] because I wrote the song after reading ‘Northern Light: The Enduring Mystery of Tom Thomson and the Woman Who Loved Him.'”

The play of rushing landscapes ebbing and flowing as if water rolling down the mountain is breathtaking. It’s soothing, profound and transcendent. That expansive feel is quite prevalent on Watson’s debut, rinsing in a cohesively-airy style and approached with great gentleness. From the sting of “You Sail Alone” to the vibrations of “Endless Ocean” to the crackling splinter of “The Wild,” Lee Watson rediscovers the beautiful tragedy of living in ways few ever fully comprehend.

Watson is set to play Riverfest Elora August 19. The lineup also includes The Flaming Lips, Donovan Woods and others.

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