by Zarah Donnelly | October 24th, 2026
When Eliza McLamb released her sophomore album, Good Story, on October 24th, 2025, I knew after my first listen that “Better Song” would be my favorite track. This fact was solidified when I heard her perform it that same night at her album release show in Raleigh. Now, exactly one year to the day after the release of Good Story, a music video for “Better Song” has been released, directed by Chris Ripley, who was the director of photography for “the cure” (Olivia Rodrigo), “Starburster” (Fontaines D.C.), “Angel of My Dreams” (JADE), and “Satellite” (Harry Styles).
In May 2026, Ripley, who loved McLamb’s music, had a specific vision for “Better Song”. He emailed her a pitch for a multi-narrative video with split realities, and offered to back the finances himself to see the vision through. Together, they formed a team consisting of production designer Sam Bader (Testament of Ann Lee), VFX artist Anton Tammi (The Weeknd, YSL), colorist Dante Pasquinelli (Charli XCX, Bad Bunny), and costume designer Sunny Kern (Nylon, Bustle, Interview magazines). This supergroup spent seven days shooting on 35mm across New York state, creating a beautiful project that came from the vision of a DP who loved this song so much that he wanted to see that vision come to life, and I, for one, am glad that he did.
The video for “Better Song” opens with McLamb in a recording studio, talking about choice paralysis, and how she ends up choosing to do nothing in order to avoid having to actually make a choice because having so many options is overwhelming. She is told to roll dice to make the choice for her in order to take some of the pressure off of decision making. A list is created of four choices, consisting of recording a song, doing laundry, going to yoga, or getting a job. After she rolls a die, a quad split screen appears, representing each new potential reality predicated on the choice made by the roll of the die.
While watching this video, I couldn’t help but think of the Community episode “Remedial Chaos Theory”, in which the main characters roll a die and speculate on the different realities that would emerge based on what face the die landed on. This is a concept I am a huge fan of, and I loved seeing it play out in this video, especially with such seemingly mundane choices determining each reality.
The first reality, recording a song, is depicted in black and white. McLamb posts a song on Instagram and subsequently blows up online, leading to sold out shows and her face on a Times Square billboard. The thrill of this fame quickly dies, though, as you can see her grow more isolated and disillusioned with the direction in which this reality is going. She eventually steps away from the spotlight, finding respite in a quieter, more rural setting.
In the second reality, doing laundry, the color grading is a moodier blue, as McLamb sits in a laundromat, scrolling through Instagram. This reality feels more representative of a depressive episode, or at the very least, a severe funk, filled with doomscrolling, self isolation, and comparing herself to other women online. We watch as this isolation is interrupted by McLamb’s friends, who arrive to help her clean up her apartment and prepare for a night out, singing in the backseat of a car.
The third version of McLamb, led by the decision to go to yoga, is graded in soft, inviting colors that feel almost comforting. She is first shown sitting in a laundromat, reading a book about a woman who refers to herself as a prophet, and begins attending a yoga group, led by the same woman from the book. McLamb ends up at a compound with this group, and it becomes apparent that this is a cult as she also grows disillusioned with life on the compound, eventually packing a bag and running away.
The fourth and final reality sees McLamb choosing to get a job, with warm color grading that assists in this version feeling the most relatable. She is once again in a laundromat, this time pulling out a clean load of work uniforms before going door to door selling solar panels. As she gets a door slammed in her face and counts cash in front of her boss, it becomes apparent (at least to me) that she is working in sales for what is known as a devilcorp, or a company that works under exploitative business practices and sends its employees either to big box stores or door to door in order to solicit sales for things like extended coverage for phone providers. We watch as McLamb’s car breaks down, and see her pay over $2000 in repairs.
All four realities end with McLamb wading into the same creek before the music video ends.
The video for “Better Song” is, in my opinion, a perfect depiction of attempting to narrativize your life and scrutinize every choice you make before you even have the chance to make it. I often find myself struggling with decision making because I feel like I have too many options, and often fear that any decision I make will have a disastrous outcome. What if when I move out of state, the apartment I signed a lease with isn’t the unit I was shown, and instead is an uninhabitable disaster? If I meet up with my friends at that bar, what if I have to leave my car overnight only to find out the next day that it got towed? Every choice you make has the potential to end in disaster, but it also has the potential to lead to better opportunities, or simply not have any major impact at all. Our entire lives are based on choices we make, and we don’t know what will happen until the choice is made. We can’t realistically be in control of every single thing that happens. That’s kind of the point of life, and I think that’s part of what makes human existence beautiful.