Though the Stepkids have been coasting just beneath radar for the past couple of years, that may change soon. We liked their self-titled 201 LP enough to include the Stones Throw-signed psychedelic soulsters in our year-end R&B roundup, and it appears that New Zealand pop ingenue Kimbra took note as well. The harmonically buff trio are on the road opening for Gotye’s girl right now, and they’ve got a well-timed new music video to go with. The playful clip for “Sweet Salvation” finds the fellas piloting a larva-powered spaceship through the cosmos when something goes wrong. They crash on a foreign planet only to be greeted by a gang of fantastical puppet aliens whose intentions are unclear. That’s when things get messy. Jesse Mann directs this H.R. Pufnstuf’ed video with assistance from the creature-making gurus at Big Nazo.
The Stepkids 2012 tour dates:
Oct 16 Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater +
Oct 17 Chicago, IL – Metro +
Oct 19 New York, NY – Webster Hall +
Oct 20 New York, NY – Webster Hall +
Oct 21 Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts +
Oct 23 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club +
Oct 24 Boston, MA – Royale +
Oct 26 Montreal, QU – Corona Theatre +
Oct 27 Toronto, ON – Danforth Music Hall +
Oct 28 Toronto, ON – The Drake Hotel
Nov 09 Bethlehem, PA – SteelJam Festival
Dec 01 Hamden, CT – Outer Space
+ with Kimbra
