Last year, former Vampire Weekend member Rostam released one of the year’s most gorgeous records, his solo debut Half-Light. But “Bike Dream,” one of the album’s singles, sits as a bit of an outlier within the collection, as it is the biggest pop song in the set and most akin to his work with his former band. If anything, the song shows the range that Rostam presents, and why he’s so skillful at providing songwriting assistance to the likes of Frank Ocean and Charli XCX in addition to his own beautifully layered compositions.
In the video for “Bike Dream,” Rostam goes quite literal with his visual interpretation, featuring himself mouthing the words to the song while he rides a bike through various city scenes. The clip gives off the globetrotting feel as he visits Paris, Berlin, and New York, showing a glimpse of what it is like to be a traveling musician, always looking in your own rearview mirror. The video was co-directed by Rostam and Dan Newman, and reminds a bit of the video for “Gwan,” which also featured plenty of the artist walking around and singing his own song.
Check out the video for “Bike Dream” above, and look for Rostam’s excellent recent album, Half-Light, available now from Nonesuch Records.
