Synopsis

Phantogram perform inside an isolated house surrounded by impenetrable darkness. Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter remain separated as they move through the rooms, framed by windows, shadows, and stark interior lighting. Their uneasy stillness gives way to a more physical climax when Carter ventures outside into the frozen landscape and begins digging into the ground. The video maintains a dreamlike, unsettling mood throughout, matching the song's whispered vocals, pulsing electronics, and themes of secrecy, isolation, and emotional distance.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was released on April 1, 2010, as the first video from Phantogram's debut album, Eyelid Movies.

• "Mouthful of Diamonds" is the opening track on Eyelid Movies and was the duo's first-ever single.

• Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter have said that the song was written in roughly ten minutes.

• OutKast's Big Boi discovered the song after hearing it in a pop-up ad. He used Shazam to identify it, then featured it as the "Jam of the Week" on his website. That introduction eventually led to Phantogram collaborating with him on the Big Grams project.

• The song later appeared on the soundtrack of the 2012 thriller Breaking the Girls.

• The video's stark house setting and frozen outdoor imagery complement the solitary, nocturnal atmosphere that critics associated with both the song and Eyelid Movies.