The Apples in Stereo Are Back from the Future

The Apples in stereohave been turning out impeccable indie pop tunes for nearly 17 years now. The band’s latest album is something a little different:Travellers in Space and Timeis a danceable concept album about time travel.

When the band stopped by Studio 360 recently, frontman Robert Schneider told Kurt Andersen that his inspiration for the album was a trip to Disney World’s “Tomorrowland.” The album’s gleaming production — rife with synthesizers and vocoders — is meant to be an aural version of the theme park’s humorously outdated vision of the future.

The “miniaturization control” at Disney World’s “Tomorrowland,” circa 1967

So naturally, when The Apples showed up to perform in-studio, the band wore futuristic costumes. Yes, they look a little silly to our 2010 sensibilities, but Robert assured us that they’re “impervious to time travel” (so maybe form follows function?).

And when you listen to the full interview, you can hear why Kurt believes the incredibly excited Robert may contain enough pent-up energy to blow up the planet.