V V Brown's 2009 breakout track "Shark in the Water" delivers an energetic blend of retro-pop, doo-wop, and indie soul. The music video splits its time between a dimly lit pub where Brown sits at a circular table shuffling Polaroid photos, and sunny outdoor shots along London's canal paths as she carries a portable cassette player. Backed by a strumming hollow-body guitar and crisp percussion, her vocal performance carries the song's infectious, bouncy rhythm with plenty of personality and sharp phrasing.
The narrative unfolds as she uses those Polaroid snapshots to track a guy who is cheating on his partner. Around 0:40, the upbeat chorus kicks in with "Baby, there's a shark in the water," setting up the playful contrast between the cheerful music and the lyrics about looming trouble and suspicion. By 2:22, she marches up the metal stairs of a brick apartment building and pins one of the damning photos to the door. When the guy opens the door at 2:32 and finds the photo, he breaks down in frustration while she calmly walks away along the towpath.
It is a fantastic snapshot of the late-2000s UK retro-pop revival that brought artists like Duffy, Paloma Faith, and Noisettes into the spotlight. The song's hook is remarkably sticky, and the clever visual pacing contrasting the laid-back pub acoustic setup with the outdoor pursuit keeps the video engaging from start to finish.