The Phoenix Foundation’s New Video Brings Geek Chic to Space

The seasoned septet of New Zealanders known as The Phoenix Foundation put themselves on the radar late last year with Buffalo, an excellent record of dreamy pop. These guys have been around for almost a decade, but this fourth album, with its chill Fleet Foxes sound and natural songwriting approach, finally caught on to a wider audience. Now, we’re wondering if New Zealand has more to offer than mountains and a folk comedy duo…

The album has certainly sparked an interest in the band’s previous work. “Bright Eyes,” the single from 2007’s Happy Ending, was featured in Buffalo‘s bonus EP, and as of late September, the track has an accompanying music video as well.

Filmmaker Taika Waititi, who has collaborated with the band in two of his film projects, directed the video. The music clip features a debonair man in a suit (who just happens to be driving by in his DeLorean), a handful of kids in sunglasses looking sort of clueless, and, of course, the band members.

Although the amount of green screen effects seems almost absurd, the whole thing, with its vintage 70s feel, is kind of adorable. You almost want to laugh at the band’s dorky appearance until you realize that the song is pretty awesome.

Dorky seems to then turn into charming and we’re left with no choice but to rock out with a bunch of New Zealanders.