In one of 2019's earliest musical treats, Solange Knowles surprised fans everywhere with the release of When I Get Home, her newest, stunning LP, which she had only announced a couple days prior to its March 1 release. And now, with the release of the video for "Things I Imagined," local fans have even more reason than before, if any was needed, to dig into the new album.
Featuring sequences filmed in Marfa and in Houston's iconic Rothko Chapel, a great deal of the video features a black-clad troupe performing with Solange in front of Dallas City Hall. It's a mesmerizing visual all around, especially when paired with the experimental, psychedelic soul sounds of this particular song, a combination Solange seems to expand and improve upon with each new album. Leave it to Solange, who directed the video, to lend the imposing I.M. Pei-designed City Hall a dark, dreamy veneer.
The video for "Almeda," released along with "Things I Imagined," features performance sequences from another regional landmark, the Fort Worth Water Gardens. Both videos are a part of the 33-minute "visual album" Apple Music exclusive film, released along with the record in March.
As arrestingly indicated by these two North Texas-centric clips, the complete film is reported to be more of a work of visual art as opposed to a traditional short film. It's a far less controversial Dallas video appearance than when local soul legend Erykah Badu undressed in front of the Texas School Book Depository in her 2010 video for "Window Seat."
Solange's keen eye for colorful expression has long been a signature of her art. When most other artists at 2017's Austin City Limits Festival were pleased to simply take the stage and perform with little production value or added flair in order to fulfill their allotted set-times, Solange's pre-sunset performance was a majestic, vibrant set filled with dazzling choreography and an urgent, color-coordinated call to face many of society's harsher realities.
Finally, Dallasites can forget about the time City Hall was a prime backdrop for RoboCop.
