Los Campesinos! - "Avocado, Baby" Music Video Analysis

Los Campesinos! are a six-piece indie band from Cardiff, Wales - comprised of Gareth Paisley, Neil Turner, Tom Bromley, Kim Paisley, Rob Taylor and Jason Adelinia. The song is the second and final single from the band's fifth studio album "No Blues", with the song running at 4:36 minutes. However, the video is 5:03 minutes long. The video is directed by actor Craig Roberts, who has starred in films such as Submarine and 22 Jump Street, and was released on the 29th of October, 2013.

The video reflects the lyric "And I feel like I'm the host of a terrible game show", by having the narrative feature the Gareth Paisley, the band's lead singer, portray a game show host whose life is rapidly going down hill. Throughout the video, his officials are seen to be trying to replace him with a younger, more attractive host, with the lead character's show decreasing in ratings due to uninterest - reflecting the lyrics "And the guests on today's quiz are celebrities. Won't respond to any clues they're just cracking jokes for views and the answers to these questions means everything". Additionally, when Paisley's character is eventually replaced, he is seen sporting a teardrop tattoo and being placed inside a coffin, mirroring his character's decline and reflecting the lyrics "May she who cast the first fist of dirt across the casket have mourners lick the mud from her fingernails". As Paisley's character's life continues to get more and more negative, the chorus of "Oh, it won't get better, that doesn't mean it's going to get any worse" is further reflected. The video ends with Paisley's character murdering his replacement and officials in a blaze glory, mirroring the ending line "A heart of stone, rind so tough it's crazy, that's why they call me the avocado, baby" - showing that no matter how bad his life gets, he is tough and unbreakable.

The video is filmed entirely in one take, however actions in the video take place to the beat of the song. An example of this would be Paisley's character reaching equilibrium and exiting his television studio at the moment that the final chorus builds to a crescendo. As well as this, the video manages to use a variety of different shots such as long shots, close-ups and low-angle shots, despite being filmed in one continuous take.

The target audience to this video is most likely to be for young adults, as the beat is incredibly catchy and the lyrics are witty and intelligent, giving the song meaning but also making it a good song to dance to.