{"id":93647,"date":"2025-12-10T10:02:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T10:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=93647"},"modified":"2025-12-12T09:31:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T09:31:07","slug":"inside-the-fantastical-new-animated-video-for-rachael-sages-kill-the-clock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2025\/12\/inside-the-fantastical-new-animated-video-for-rachael-sages-kill-the-clock\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the Fantastical New Animated Video for Rachael Sage\u2019s \u2018Kill The Clock&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Rachael Sage\u2019s latest album &#8216;Canopy&#8217;, alive with imagery that explores themes of empathy, LGBTQ+ representation, and compassion, ventures into an even more imaginative realm with her new animated video for &#8216;Kill The Clock&#8217;. Mirroring the track\u2019s urgent pace, vintage pop sensibilities, and heartfelt musings about the pressures she has faced throughout her youth and into adulthood, the video becomes a whimsical odyssey stitched together with Sage\u2019s own illustrations, textures, and unmistakable spirit.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Directed by Carrisa Johnson, &#8216;Kill The Clock&#8217; unfurls less like a standard music video and more like an animated adventure &#8211; part childhood daydream, part retro reverie. The visuals dance in tune with the song\u2019s jaunty, vintage-pop energy, conjuring a world where curious symbols, surreal landscapes, and playful oddities bloom from each lyric. Together, Johnson and Sage build a dazzling, fast-moving universe that mirrors the song\u2019s emphatic horns, driving rhythm, and breathless energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><div  style=\"display: block; margin: 0px auto;\"  id=\"_ytid_98298\"  width=\"640\" height=\"360\"  data-origwidth=\"640\" data-origheight=\"360\"  data-relstop=\"1\" data-facadesrc=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8SQI6RQbf_s?enablejsapi=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/essentiallypop.com&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=1&#038;controls=1&#038;disablekb=0&#038;color=red&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;rel=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__ epyt-facade epyt-is-override  no-lazyload\" data-epautoplay=\"1\" ><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-spai-excluded=\"true\" class=\"epyt-facade-poster skip-lazy\" loading=\"lazy\"  alt=\"Rachael Sage &amp; The Sequins - Kill The Clock (Official Music Video)\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/8SQI6RQbf_s\/maxresdefault.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\"  \/><button class=\"epyt-facade-play\" aria-label=\"Play\"><svg data-no-lazy=\"1\" height=\"100%\" version=\"1.1\" viewBox=\"0 0 68 48\" width=\"100%\"><path class=\"ytp-large-play-button-bg\" d=\"M66.52,7.74c-0.78-2.93-2.49-5.41-5.42-6.19C55.79,.13,34,0,34,0S12.21,.13,6.9,1.55 C3.97,2.33,2.27,4.81,1.48,7.74C0.06,13.05,0,24,0,24s0.06,10.95,1.48,16.26c0.78,2.93,2.49,5.41,5.42,6.19 C12.21,47.87,34,48,34,48s21.79-0.13,27.1-1.55c2.93-0.78,4.64-3.26,5.42-6.19C67.94,34.95,68,24,68,24S67.94,13.05,66.52,7.74z\" fill=\"#f00\"><\/path><path d=\"M 45,24 27,14 27,34\" fill=\"#fff\"><\/path><\/svg><\/button><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The lyrics themselves take shape across the screen, guiding viewers through a series of dreamlike vignettes: gliding toward a grand house on a silver ice rink &#8211; one she might claim as her own &#8211; passing paper cups, melting candles, even drifting infants. And always, the refrain pulses beneath it all: \u201cthere\u2019s a time bomb ticking\u201d, an ever-present reminder of the pressures that shadow her days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet at the heart of the video lies Sage\u2019s pursuit of authenticity. In one striking moment, a cartoon Rachael steps into a hallway as a sign labelled \u201cNot Good Enough\u201d floats by. Instead of shrinking, she walks past it &#8211; away from the fantastical world of expectations and competition, toward the truth of her full, unfiltered self. The imagery is symbolic: an invitation to step beyond imposed limits and embrace one\u2019s singular identity, echoing the larger message of the album.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All of these elements &#8211; its tension, its courage &#8211; lead naturally back to Sage\u2019s own reflection on the song\u2019s origins. As she explains:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;&#8230;It\u2019s very \u201880s-greed\u2019-inspired &#8211; along with reflecting the insanely competitive aspects of the college application process &#8211; and reflects some of the unfortunate bullying I experienced. I chose to include a grown-up version of this song on the album not only because I intuited that The Sequins could bring it to new life, but because it\u2019s essentially about corruption, written from a child\u2019s perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the end, &#8216;Kill The Clock&#8217; becomes not just a visual companion to the music, but a poetic vessel for Sage\u2019s story. It\u2019s a fitting, imaginative crescendo to \u2018Canopy,\u2019\u00a0 her most exploratory and memorable work yet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rachael Sage\u2019s latest album &#8216;Canopy&#8217;, alive with imagery that explores themes of empathy, LGBTQ+ representation, and compassion, ventures into an even more imaginative realm with her new animated video for &#8216;Kill The Clock&#8217;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":93648,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"Rachael Sage\u2019s latest album 'Canopy', alive with imagery that explores themes of empathy, LGBTQ+ representation, and compassion, ventures into an even more imaginative realm with her new animated video for 'Kill The Clock'.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Rachael Sage\u2019s latest album 'Canopy', alive with imagery that explores themes of empathy, LGBTQ+ representation, and compassion, ventures into an even more imaginative realm with her new animated video for 'Kill The Clock'.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7,21455,9,21453,21445,21446,21449,640],"tags":[32895,33341,33340,77,370,1945,18471,5391,116,10677,81,22992],"class_list":["post-93647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","category-new-albums","category-new-releases","category-new-singles","category-reviews","category-single-reviews","category-video-reviews","category-videos","tag-canopy","tag-carissa-johnson","tag-kill-the-clock","tag-new-release","tag-new-single","tag-new-video","tag-polly-havelock","tag-rachael-sage","tag-review","tag-single-review","tag-video","tag-video-review"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5yMhl-omr","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":90882,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2025\/05\/rachael-sage-to-recaptures-hearts-with-the-compassionate-canopy\/","url_meta":{"origin":93647,"position":0},"title":"Rachael Sage To Recapture Hearts With The Compassionate &#8216;Canopy&#8217;","author":"Polly Havelock","date":"12\/05\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Rachael Sage\u2019s soul-stirring blend of poetic folk-Americana returns to captivate hearts with \u2018Canopy,\u2019 the luminous lead single from her forthcoming album. 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