Halfwait showcases the importance of knowing your weak points and working around them.

Alt-rock outfit Halfwait has just dropped its latest music video, for single Fly Away, and it’s a lesson in how understanding yourself is key to making a good video.

Unfortunately, Halfwait’s video doesn’t do justice to the track. The single itself is powerful in every aspect. The guitars are crunchy, the drums are fierce and the vocals are emotive and well-delivered. However, the video undermines the power of the single – which is the polar opposite to what a video should achieve. On a whole, it offers very little deviation to a time-tested standard and simply follows the performance-piece-to-camera style. While this isn’t attention-grabbing, it is not necessarily a bad thing… except for that it highlights one of the problems for the band.

To really nail a piece-to-camera, the band has to seem believable. Anything less than that and viewers will just see it as a few people messing around with instruments. That alone isn’t necessarily a bad thing if done correctly, as it might exemplify the band’s character. Yet Halfwait are not believable for only one reason: the look on frontman Jon Barca’s face. This seems like a petty point, but when Barca is shot as the star of the video — with several close-up shots of his face — it is critical that he channels the song’s feeling convincingly. He doesn’t, and it makes the whole experience jarring. It’s unfortunate, as the song itself is powerful, but the visuals leave much to be desired.