I will forever hold a negative bias toward music videos due to my adolescent years in the late 1990′s.

Part of it was probably having to listen ​to geeks like ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Carson Daly talk about “music”​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​, but the real reason​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ was simply volume. Because kids were buying CD’s, major record labels pumped out generic and uninspired videos with incredible frequency, forcing awkward pre-teens like myself to pretend that they thought that new Lit video was pretty good (it wasn’t.) ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Over exposure is completely to blame, and I got sick of watching bands pretend to play their instruments in front of people pretending to go apeshit.

Fast forward to present day Earth, where Seattle’s The Moondoggies have proven with their video for “Empress of the North” that the medium can be both artistically relevant and entertaining. A beautifully detailed animation and a commendably written song combine to tell intertwined yet independent tales. Two art forms join forces for a cooperative folk experience. In short, this video is boss.

The animation, created by Drew Christie, is polished and genre appropriate. Weathered and stoic, the video’s nameless Hemmingway-esque protagonist travels long and far, enduring hardships and climbing both literal and figurative mountains with hopes of finding the unnamed something he so desperately seeks. Soft coloring and static motion give the video a children’s book feel, whereas the maritime and wilderness seem as if they were pulled right from a Decemberists record sleeve. It’s not campy or cheezy, but it’s wholesome as hell and about as folky as it gets.

Musically, the composition is one of a mature songwriter. The story is as old as time . Man meets woman, man in falls in love, man is wronged, man is hurt. Because the genre rarely calls for innovation (with apologies to Sufjan), a great folk song shines not because of its subject matter, but rather because of its execution. This is why The Moondoggies succeed. Lead vocalist Kevin Murphy possesses a voice beyond his years. No joke, dude can sing. Accompanied by a flawlessly executed backing vocal, Murphy’s voice takes center stage, somehow overshadowing the stellar harmony that is still very present.

The complete ”Empress of the North” experience is an impressive product by a self-aware band.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Their October 12th release Tidelands should only further prove that The Moondoggies can do this stuff in their sleep and do it damn well.

Note: The Moondoggies will be appearing in MTV New Media’s $5 Cover in the near future.  Watch a clip of that footage below.