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Watch: Insecure Men “Teenage Toy”

By Kirsten Kay Thoen aka Daggers For Eyes, find her on Instagram here


Insecure Men’s release of its first music video for Teenage Toy this week is a far cry from a dog’s breakfast. Director Jak Payne creates a love child of two of my favorite director’s Mike Leigh (Hard Labor/Naked/High Hopes) and Lynne Ramsay (Morvern Callar/Ratcatcher) with his cinematic approach heavily rooted in a sense of place that reflects a particular lens on humanity.

The video also draws a line to one of my favorite music videos of all time, also directed by Lynne Ramsay, of Dove’s “Black and White Town”—except where Ramsay hones in deep on the prepubescent and adolescent discontent of kids in impoverished Britain, with no trace of the band itself—Payne very skillfully crafts a visual semblance between “Teenage Toy’s” narrative and Insecure Men’s cast of characters. It’s done in a manner that avoids being contrived while being groovy at it’s core.

The subversive nature of the track is made even juicier by the niche Lolita cast for the part, which to me is like a little tilt of the hat to the film Mod Fuck Explosion (one that is certainly of personal sentiment but a must see if you haven’t). Insecure Men dotted all their I’s and crossed all the T’s in the hearts of their fans with this video that surely won’t grow tired in the foreseeable future!



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