Gomez - We Haven't Turned Around

1999

Gomez - We Haven't Turned Around (1999) Director: Laurence Dunmore Era: Late Britpop / Post-Mercury Prize Indie (1999) - A moment of transition from mid-90s Britpop dominance toward blues-inflected, psychedelic indie rock; Gomez occupied an anomalous position as Mercury Prize winners defying genre convention. A culturally significant artefact from the apex of Gomez's commercial and critical period, this video captures the band's anti-glam, roots-forward identity through a warm, realist visual language helmed by Laurence Dunmore, then ascending from music video work toward a feature film career. Its connection to the American Beauty soundtrack (1999) and the band's Mercury Prize legacy make it a notable document of late-1990s British indie crossover into mainstream cultural consciousness. The fast editorial rhythm against the song's contemplative tone offers a productive tension for scholars of music video form. Context: Released on 8 November 1999 as the third single from Gomez's second album Liquid Skin (Hut Records), 'We Haven't Turned Around' appeared at a pivotal moment in British indie culture, the tail end of Britpop's commercial dominance, when a new generation of acts was seeking more rootsy, Americana-influenced sounds. Gomez were a singular proposition: a Southport five-piece who had already won the Mercury Prize in 1998 for their debut Bring It On, yet resisted the polished Britpop mould in favour of blues, folk, and psychedelic textures. The song, which features prominent cello arrangements and originated under the working title 'Canderel', reached number 38 on the UK Singles Chart. It was also selected for the soundtrack to American Beauty (1999), broadening its cultural reach significantly into the US market at a time of peak transatlantic indie crossover interest. Director notes: Confirmed as director of the 1999 music video for Gomez's 'We Haven't Turned Around' via IMVDb (imvdb.com/video/gomez/we-havent-turned-around). The video was produced by John & Kai (per IMVDb credits). Dunmore's background in graphic design and his early 1990s music video work (e.g., Camouflage's 'Heaven (I Want You)', 1991) preceded this commission. The Gomez video was made the same year he directed Scritti Politti's 'Tinseltown to the Boogie Down' (1999), placing it within an active period of music video output alongside his commercial directorial career at RSA Films. The warm, low-lit realist aesthetic of the video aligns with his broader sensibility for emotive, character-driven visual storytelling.