We’re still trying to figure out exactly how the word ‘steampunk’ had eluded us for so long. The short answer is because we don’t read as much as we’d like to (covering music, movies, TV and sports will do that to a person), but either way, once we saw that Chicago band Hey Champ closed their (awesome) 2010 album Star with a song called “Steampunk Camelot,” we suddenly saw the word everywhere. Like, say, in the subject header for the email promoting this band’s strange new video.
This is the only song we’ve heard from All Mankind, but we dig the vibe, a blend of Muse’s theatrics and Crowded House’s pop instincts. And the latter makes sense, since the band is from Australia. (Yes, Neil Finn is from New Zealand, but close enough for jazz.) The video is pretty sweet, too. It reminds us of the 2009 animated film “9,” only better. And for those who want to hear Hey Champ’s “Steampunk Camelot” — and if you’re at all a fan of Drama-era Yes or the Buggles, you do not want to miss this — click here. Rock on.
