Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros have, at long last, posted the much-anticipated third instalment in their SALVO! 12-part video opera. In case you forgot, we left off with Edward escaping from prison (get caught up on the story at their vimeo page), and hiding from their pursuers. In 40 Day Dream, they meet Jade and the rest of the Magnetic Zeros.

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – 40 Day Dream from Edward Sharpe on Vimeo.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros have a new single called Home. The song comes from their 2009 debut, “Up From Below”, which is a very cool record.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros "Home" from Edward Sharpe on Vimeo.

Up From Below begins as a competent, western-flavoured folk rock album where you might catch the odd whiff of rockabilly in the air, but it really gets going about half way through when you get to Home.  The lyrics “Alabama, Arkansas / I do love my ma and pa"…” signal a transformation into a full-on cowboy rock opera that wouldn’t seem out of place scoring some kind of psychedelic old-west epic. The songs in the second half of the album feel like lonesome cowboy riding music, and conjure up images of sweeping desert plains with surreal colors in the sky. Think Django, mixed with that Simpsons episode where Homer hallucinates from eating Chili. If that piques your interest, then I’ve got some good news for you:

“SALVO!” is a 12-part music video series by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros that tells the story of Edward, a curiously Jesus-looking fugitive, and his hallucinatory adventures in the desert. So far only 2 of the 12 planned episodes have been released, so I’m anxiously awaiting the next chapter. Check SALVO! out on Youtube.