Lion Babe and Wu-Tang Clan’s Raekwon hustle in a saloon and take on outlaws in the new video for “Western World.” The song appears on Lion Babe’s sophomore LP, Cosmic World, which will be released tomorrow. The album is the follow-up to the duo’s 2016 debut, Begin.
In the clip that recalls old Westerns, Lion Babe’s Jillian Hervey and Lucas Goodman appear on some dusty train tracks while the rhythms from their interpolation of Pet Shop Boys’ classic “West End Girls” comes in. As Hervey strolls the town, nuns look upon her in judgment. Later, they perform at a saloon, where seemingly illicit exchanges of money and other untoward arrangements take place.
The setting mirrors the lyric’s themes of loneliness and listlessness while going through life in a “western world” where “you’re on your own” and “it’s hard to find some peace.”
As Lion Babe entertains the saloon’s audience, Raekwon participates in a card game and injects positivity into the mix. “You know how I pop,” he raps. “It’s just a radiant glow I got that make me keep radio on lock/All about love, we premiere/Baby, we here/It’s like this: let me lighten your bliss.” Raekwon and Hervey are also seen toasting away their seedy surroundings.
While the Western’s protagonists are making the best of their circumstances, a group of outlaws looks to challenge Lion Babe. However, as the song’s grooves command, they dance their way out of the jam.