Mon Laferte Returns to Rock Roots in New ‘Paisaje Japonés’ Video

Latin Grammy-winning artist Mon Laferte has traversed many a genre over the years. Whereas she once cut her teeth as the bewitching, heavy metal frontwoman of Mystica Girls, she eventually came to embrace her rootsier side by venturing into cumbia, salsa, and ranchera sounds in her 2018 LP, Norma.

But Mon Laferte’s latest output revives the gritty, rockstar persona that first charmed her fans. Following the angst-ridden balladry of her previous one-off singles, “Chilango Blues” and “Canción de Mierda” (which endearingly translates to “Shit Song”) Laferte veers towards a breakup — or perhaps passionate makeup — in her tempestuous rock & roll ballad, “Paisaje Japonés.”

Shot on 35mm film, the video cuts between scenes of Mon Laferte at band practice with a crew of ladies, and of her stalking the streets of Paris, trying to make sense of her loneliness. Donning a European take on bantu knots, she hangs her head and sings: “In the window, a Japanese landscape/Blooming one day at a time/And it’s not you, it’s not you.” The video culminates with Laferte and her band smashing their instruments to smithereens, marking a return of the prodigal rockera.

Although the she has made no public plans to release a new record, Laferte’s latest trilogy foreshadows an exciting turn. Laferte spoke to Rolling Stone earlier this year about experimenting with regional Mexican music and her growing fanbase in the U.S.: “The world is changing positively,” she said. “Language isn’t a problem anymore.”