The 3Ds released their third album, “Strange News from the Angels” in 1996, but something wasn’t quite right. It didn’t have the same spark that “Hellzapoppin” and “The Venus Trail” did. The opening track “Dust” sounded like the 3Ds were trying to replicate the energetic opening tracks of the previous two albums, but had forgotten how to do it.
The video has a bit of that same tiredness. Three-quarters of the 3Ds are absent, leaving David Saunders alone in front of a green screen with some goofy puppets.
There’s a lot of low budget fun, looking like like an explosion in a 1990s cool clip art factory. A toy dinosaur robots, motorbikes, aeroplanes, insects, false teeth and other novelties get some screen time along with David’s disembodies head.
This video frustrates me because while it’s not terrible, it’s nowhere near as good as what the 3D’s have previously done.
Best bit: the orange-haired puppet’s dive out the window of the band’s practice space. Noooo!
Next… the awkward serious phase.