Nashville vocalist/songwriter Nikki Lane recently debuted a new song and music video. Black Widow was directed by Austin Leih and shot in Austin, TX. The track is from Lane’s forthcoming album “Denim & Diamonds,” which is slated for release September 23rd via New West Records.
Black Widow is presented in black & white, though red tint appears throughout the video, hinting to the threat of its namesake spider. Lane is shown in a Texas motel, getting dressed following a night with a cowboy. A red sand timer suggests that time is running out for her former lover. The cowboy is seen running from the hotel and along a deserted highway, knowing that Lane is after him in her classic Mustang. As she approaches to deliver what looks like his demise, she instead throws him his hat, and speeds away - the Black Widow symbol on the hood of her hot rod.
According to Leih, Black Widow was shot using Sony’s Venice camera, along with Canon FD primes and Angenieux’s Optimo 30-80. The project was edited in Adobe Premiere Pro.
"Black Widow evoked imagery of exploitation cinema - graphic, tactile and immediate,” Leih explains. “With each step in production, the aim was to layer those foundational elements in a way that best supported Nikki and the song."
“Recording ‘Black Widow’ was an exhilarating experience,” notes Lane, “with both Carla Azar and Matt Helders on drums, alongside the rest of the players (Joshua) Homme curated. The room was pulsing as we followed the lyrics of a female Black Widow spider, presumably chasing after her prey — a moniker easily associated with powerful women, which I had found intriguing. For me, it’s always been more fun to just move on.”