my single is dropping

Years & Years’ ‘Crave’ Video Is a Midsummer Night’s Sex Dream

Lord, what fools these mortals be! Extremely horny fools, that is, in Years & Years’ music video for the new single, “Crave.” The already sensual yearning-on-the-dance-floor slow-burner kicks things up a notch with the visuals, starring singer Olly Alexander in a steamy, trippy fantasy. There are snakes, peaches, bondage, and even sexy elves and demons (played by, among others, Alexander’s It’s a Sin co-stars Omari Douglas, Nathaniel Hall, and David Carlisle). In a statement, Alexander described the song and video as “a playful way of inhabiting the deranged sexual energy I’ve always wanted.” We’d call it A Midsummer Night’s Sex Dream.

“Crave” leads off Years & Years’ third album, Night Call, out January 7. This will be the first album for Alexander’s solo project, after Mikey Goldsworthy and Emre Türkmen left the band earlier this year. “I was writing from a fantastical space, stuck in the same four walls. I wanted to have as much pleasure as possible in the music,” Alexander said of the upcoming album. “Crave” follows Years & Years’ single “Starstruck” from the spring, along with covers of Pet Shop Boys’ “It’s a Sin,” performed with Elton John at the Brit Awards, and Lady Gaga’s “Edge of Glory” for her Born This Way tenth-anniversary project.

Years and Years’ ‘Crave’ Video: Midsummer Night’s Sex Dream