To kick off their East Coast micro-tour with Massachussetts outsider hero Bobb Trimble this week, The Prefab Messiahs just unveiled this Xeth "Xerox" Feinberg-animated video for "Desperately Happy," a track from their recently reissued Peace Love & Alienation LP, on Fixed Identity. The Prefabs appear in the form of four cartoon avatars, idling around the suburban gas stations and bars of "Wormtown", MA like the alienated young adults they were back in the early '80s.

But who exactly are they singing about when they tell us not to "sing their harmony?" Sure, there's the images of faceless soldiers and a gun-slinging Ronald McDonald, flags of capitalist, warmongering society. But we can't ignore the golden arches on the drummer's kit, nor the fact that the band have chosen to participate in this all-encompassing, inescapable thing we call "the system" merely by penning this jangling pop tune, or choosing to appear in the form of a cartoon. In other words, we don't have to think long and hard about the meaning of the name Prefab Messiahs to be reminded of the endless complexities of trying to critique the status quo through the language of pop culture. For more on the matter, stay tuned for Liz Pelly's profile on the group later this week.

A few copies of Peace, Love & Alienation is still available from Fixed Identity. Peep the dates for The Prefab Messiahs' mini-tour below:

6/6 Cambridge, MA -- Middlesex Lounge
6/7 Northampton, MA - The Sierra Grille
6/8 Brooklyn NY, - Death By Audio
6/9 Worcester, MA - The Firehouse