Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - The Only One

What this video is

Released in January 2021 amid ongoing COVID-19 pandemic touring restrictions, 'The Only One' video exemplifies the period's turn toward hyperlocal, community-rooted music video production. Unable to tour internationally, Melbourne-based bands leaned into their immediate geographic and social environment. The Northern Melbourne suburbs depicted here — inner-north working-class residential streets — are the cultural…

Why it matters

This video is a key document of the 2020s Australian indie rock aesthetic: anti-glossy, community-embedded, and surrealist in a distinctly DIY mode. It reflects the global influence of the Melbourne scene (via Sub Pop's international distribution) while remaining resolutely provincial in its…

The director

Michael Ridley is an award-winning freelance filmmaker based in Melbourne, Australia, specialising in directing, cinematography, and editing. He has studied at RMIT and works primarily in music videos, live sessions, and live gig filming for Australian…