Diners, mountain ranges and fringed sleeves: Dev Hynes directs Beck's new music video

The multi-talented Dev Hynes returns to directing with a newly-released music video for Beck’s Uneventful Days, a single from the upcoming Hyperspace album due to be released on 22 November. Starring Tessa Thompson, Evan Rachel Wood and Alia Shawkat, the music video is rich with dusty Americana imagery and plenty of references to old Beck visuals. Setting the scene for Beck’s latest project that will feature contributions from big-hitters Pharrell Williams and Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Hynes’ latest foray into directing shows his versatility, previously directing the music video for his Benzo back in July that featured surreal, vibrant and highly embellished costumes.

Using washed-out pink tones indicative of film stock, gratuitous use of slow-motion, and opening straight into a diner scene, Hynes drops us right into Beck’s new universe. Aside from a few indoor scenes, the video features warm, melancholic tones that matches the song’s atmospheric, reverb-rich and synth-heavy production that’s not too far off from Hynes’ own musical aesthetic, probably highly influenced by Beck’s collaboration with Pharrell.

“I really tried to be less ambitious on the production of these songs, like let them be simple and let them breathe. Pharell is a master minimalist,” Beck previously told NME about the album.

Fans with a sharp eye will notice the reference to Beck’s Devil Haircut video in Tessa Thompson’s getup that almost exactly matches Beck’s from his 1996 video, as well as Evan Rachel Wood’s fringe-sleeved outfit from 1999 Sexx Laws. Hynes also includes other references to Beck’s past, with a wilting Beck poster in an office scene of a listless office worker and a crying man wearing a Beck shirt.

“I’ve admired the originality and personal style of the clips that he’s made for himself and others,” Beck shared on Twitter about Hynes’ directing. If you’re having one of these uneventful days, you can do much worse than diving into Hynes’ gorgeous desert-chic music video.