How to Destroy Angels release new ‘Ice Age’ video

It’s not a tie-in with the animated-film franchise (man, how sweet would that be?), but “Ice Age,” the new video from Trent Reznor’s How to Destroy Angels, is a relatively heartwarming affair from a guy known for his less-than-rosy worldview.

Posted to YouTube on Wednesday, the clip finds the L.A.-based electro-rock outfit -- which in addition to Reznor includes Atticus Ross, Rob Sheridan and Reznor’s wife, Mariqueen Maandig -- jamming on the prettiest cut from this month’s “An Omen” EP inside what appears to be somebody’s weekend lake house. (Watch the video below.)

What makes the loveliness of “Ice Age” even more surprising is that it was directed by John Hillcoat, the Australian filmmaker known for his brutal 2009 adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” and for a couple of avant-western collaborations with the equally brutal Nick Cave.

The video gets a bit creepy toward the end, we’ll admit, with a long shot of an ominous-looking sea and some quick-cut images depicting a flock of birds going Hitchcock on an innocent beachgoer. But even there you’ve got Maandig’s calming vocals -- and Reznor’s tasty kalimba playing -- to soothe your frazzled nerves.

How to Destroy Angels is scheduled to release its first full-length early next year. Can someone let the folks at Pixar know?

ALSO:

Rihanna scores first No. 1 album with ‘Unapologetic’

Black Keys settle lawsuits with Pizza Hut, Home Depot

Rare artist interviews now streaming at Library of Congress