Following a seven-year hiatus, the Lovely Sparrows’ end-of-2018 LP Shake the Shadow begged the question: Is there any real magic?
Local folk songwriter Shawn Jones continues the inquiry in a new video for the finger-picked, pensive album’s titular track. In a homespun work of stop motion animation shot on an iPhone, the artist explores his love for old adventure serials and B-movie horror via spooky gothic vignettes. Tarot cards and ouija boards embellish the tumults of “a Houdini-esque skeptic who gets in over his head with a cabal of occultists.”</p
Jones conjured the clip with creative partner Katie Green, who also joins him in magical-realist video game creation and in experimental theatre company Twin Alchemy Collective. The video expands on the saga of past Lovely Sparrows clip “While Sailing,” with the singer adding that upcoming “Reclusive Animals” will tie it all together.
The long-running local act embarks on SXSW 2019 for the Austin Town Hall vs. Side One Track One showcase, March 10 at Hotel Vegas.
This article appears in February 15 • 2019.