Bittersweet blue tendrils inside me
Living fingers under feet
Give me eyes that I might see
Give me space that I might breathe
Australian artist Sean Bell sends a fresh wave of optimism surging through his latest single, Under The Blacklight, a luminous burst of post-punk pop infused with buoyant immediacy. The track dances along the delicate line between anxious contemplation and euphoric liberation, recalling the sunnier moods of Robert Smith’s more upbeat moments with The Cure. Bell takes his own inner chaos and transforms it into a spirited celebration, turning panic’s chaos into a communal dance.
As a one-man musical powerhouse, Bell effortlessly navigates guitar, bass, keys, and vocals, driven by a rhythmic momentum that hums like a finely-tuned engine beneath soaring guitar riffs. His layered arrangements unfold with stylish clarity: poetic and playful, his lyrics brim with sharp cultural nods and raw emotional honesty, capturing the grit and glamour of urban life.
Bell’s sound pulls together the rhythmic pulse of 80s New Wave and the thoughtful depth of classic post-punk melodies, jiving with the rugged landscapes and urban sprawl of his Sydney home. With echoes of Interpol’s melodic melancholy, Nick Cave’s profound emotion, and New Order’s sleek rhythm, Bell candidly tackles mental health, love, and existential anxieties through an infectious groove.
Lyrically, Under The Blacklight traces a journey from suffocating anxiety to exhilarating freedom, turning emotional struggle into an invitation to dance away fear beneath neon lights. Bell uses vivid metaphors to explore the darkness within, ultimately offering a hopeful embrace of life’s brighter moments.
The DIY music video captures this spirit perfectly: a playful, surreal spectacle of ultraviolet glow, skull motifs, and glinting aluminum foil, evoking the whimsical theatricality of David Byrne’s elastic theatrics in Stop Making Sense. The choreography is spontaneous and joyful, perfectly matching the track’s sense of liberation, resulting in a visual experience that’s equal parts absurd and irresistible.
Watch the video for “Under The Blacklight” below:
In addition to music, Sean Bell is an award-winning director, editor and producer of film, TV and video. “I’ve directed narrative, commercial, broadcast, music and had the great pleasure of directing some of the biggest stars in the world,” he says.
Under The Blacklight is a song that confronts panic with fearless exuberance, and, ultimately, to bask in the present’s fleeting glow. Listen to the single below and order it here.
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