What we have here is a thriller of the most pastoral stripe: Folk-rockers meet the zombie apocalypse in a new music video for "40K" by Brooklyn's own Pearl And The Beard. The trio -- Jocelyn Mackenzie, Emily Hope Price, and Jeremy Styles -- tends toward a breezy pop sound, not typically associated with flesh-eating animated corpses. But here they come, staggering through the marshy trails that lead to Dead Horse Bay at the southern tip of Brooklyn.

The video for "40K" features a "Zombie Squad" comprised of fans, and is shot from the perspective of a rotting monster who is looking for the closest fleshy feast: the band. This was not against their will. As Emily Hope Price wrote to me, they've just been waiting for the right moment to realize this vision.

"The concept was largely based on our collective obsession with zombies. We're all huge fans of The Walking Dead, and a large part of the feeling of the video was inspired by our Walking Dead geekery. Knowing the third season of the show was upon us, we wanted to pay homage to the culture of the zombie. Zombies are like the best friend who you clung to after a bad break up. The vampire fad is like the ex-boyfriend who broke up with you and sucked your soul - they only want you around for as long as they deem fit. When vampires are done with you, they're done, and they're very solitary creatures. Zombies, on the other hand, roam in packs, and want all of you -- all the pieces. And they'll take you as you are: every last piece."

The video was produced, directed, and edited by Jessi Southern, who said of the shoot:

"The notion of a sauntering zombie takeover for "40K" had been rolling around in the minds of Pearl And The Beard for almost a year. When I arrived in New York, I hardly expected to be lending a hand in the backyard mud with the band, shredding dozens of zombie costumes under the car tires and brewing plans in the headlights."

And, a highlight, according to band member Jocelyn Mackenzie, was working with her 7-year-old nephew:

"He showed up so ready and eager to participate, was incredibly focused all day long, and really nailed the 'hungry for brains' walk, which he'd spent hours practicing. He brought a lot of joy to the whole cast and crew, and man, did he eat a lot of sandwiches."