When we think Jamiroquai, we tend to think of acid-jazz noodling and relentlessly regrettable headwear. But only half of that Grammy-winning formula is intact in the band’s latest video, “Automotan,” which it released today by way of announcing a new album of the same name. The video sees a man (presumably the band’s frontman, Jay Kay) wearing what we can only describe as a “digital anime helmet,” wandering a wasteland with his white plastic head-spines at the ready. (Not even Jamiroquai is immune to the allure of the post-apocalypse at this point.) The music, meanwhile, goes heavily in an electronic direction, although there’s also some cyber-rapping that pops up at the end.
According to a statement from the band posted by Pitchfork, the video is meant to represent “the rise of artificial intelligence and technology in our world today, and how we as humans are beginning to forget the more pleasant, simple, and eloquent things in life.” Automotan the album will presumably explore similar themes (and advances in bad-hat technology) when it comes out on March 31.