New York, NY (Top40 Charts) LA psych-soul four-piece Chicano Batman announce Invisible People, out May 1st via ATO Records. The follow-up to 2017's critically-acclaimed Freedom Is Free is also their most sonically-varied and cohesive. The record is a statement of hope, a proclamation that we are all invisible people, and that despite race, class, or gender we can overcome our differences and stand together.
For the album, the band worked with Shawn Everett, the GRAMMY-award winning mixing engineer known for his work with
Alabama Shakes, War on Drugs, Kacey Musgraves, and Julian Casablancas. With Leon Michels' (Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Lee Fields & The Expressions) producing and Everett's mixing steering the record's direction, the band's lush Tropicalia-tinged sound has transformed into their most polished and densely layered. Invisible People is an illuminating and encapsulating sonic landscape, one that hasn't lost the essence that put Chicano Batman on the map.
The group who combine "soul, surf and Tropicália into a raging blend of fire and excitement" (Rolling Stone) are celebrating the announcement with a new single and video for "Color my life." Directed by
George Mays, the video is a psychedelic collage of visuals that sees the band grooving to synths amongst palm tree-studded backgrounds of Los Angeles' streets, beaches, and boardwalks.
Watch via Rolling Stone: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-latin/chicano-batman-new-album-invisible-people-2020-tour-957558/
Flaunting their "laid back lounge grooves...R&B with flavors from Mexico or Brazil and a funky swagger" (NPR) that they've become so known for, "Color my life" places the listener in a hazy, California dream.
"[It's a] neck breaker from the future, beckoning a retreat to nature in the apocalyptic dawn," says lead singer Bardo Martinez of the track and accompanying visuals. "This is Chicano Batman's new single for all generations past and for all those yet to be born.
Everything is everything, brothers and sisters."
Chicano Batman will embark on an expansive U.S. tour in support of Invisible People which will take the "politically astute" (Billboard) group across both coasts, including stops at New York City's Webster Hall and LA's iconic Shrine Auditorium, their largest venue to date at 6,000+ capacity. NPR
Music says the band's live set immerses the audience in a non-stop "groove that gets better and better with each performance," while Noisey praises the group's "smooth R&B and soul sides." After earning a coveted spot in 2015's Coachella line-up, the band will return to Indio this year to play the Festival this year. Johnnie Walker, a partner of the band since 2017, joins the tour as the presenting sponsor. Chicano Batman appeared in the Johnnie Walker 'Keep Walking America' campaign celebrating a new, diverse generation of Americans moving culture forward. Johnnie Walker is proud to support Chicano Batman's boundary-pushing new album and will soon release the official tour cocktail for fans aged 21+.
Watch Chicano Batman's NPR Tiny Desk performance here:
Watch Chicano Batman's performance on CONAN:
Invisible People Tracklisting:
1.
Color my life
2. Blank Slate
3. I Know It
4. Invisible People
5. Manuel's Story
6. Moment of Joy
7. Pink Elephant
8. Polymetronomic Harmony
9. The Way
10. The Prophet
11. Bella
12. Wounds
PRAISE FOR CHICANO BATMAN
"collide soul, surf and Tropicália into a raging blend of fire and excitement" - ROLLING STONE
"a pitch-perfect voice of the resistance"- BILLBOARD
"a deeper dimension of sly pop culture references, unapologetic Latin pride, and the thoughtful exploration of popular music's all pervasive black roots"- Noisey
"laid-back lounge grooves and a funky swagger" - NPR
"You need to know Chicano Batman...with their combination of soul, pop, tropicalia and psych" - THE GUARDIAN
ABOUT CHICANO BATMAN
Chicano Batman source their high-spirited alternative synthesis from tropicália, West Coast psychedelia, and late-'60s/early-'70s soul. Made up of Eduardo Arenas (bass, guitar, vocals),
Carlos Arévalo (guitars), Bardo Martinez (lead vocals, keyboards, guitar), Gabriel Villa (drums), Chicano Batman has been well-respected locally for the best part of a decade. The group has opened for Jack White,
Alabama Shakes,
Vampire Weekend and
Portugal. The Man in recent tours and has played major festivals like Coachella and Bonnaroo. After signing with ATO Records, the group released Freedom is Free in 2017, teaming up with Leon Michels to craft an ambitious sonic experience that enhances the soul and R&B elements of their sound.
CHICANO BATMAN 2020 SPRING / SUMMER TOUR DATES
PRESENTED BY JOHNIE WALKER
^w/ CRUMB
*w/ Le Butcherettes
Wednesday, April 8th —
Santa Fe, NM —Meow Wolf
Thursday, April 9th — Phoenix, AZ —Van Buren^
Friday, April 10th — Indio, CA — Coachella
Wednesday, April 15th — Indio, CA — Chella
Friday, April 17th — Indio, CA — Coachella
Wednesday, April 29th — Kingston, NY —BSP Kingston*
Friday, May 1st — New York, NY —Webster Hall*
Saturday, May 2nd — Boston, MA — Paradise Rock Club*
Sunday, May 3rd — Philadelphia, PA — Union Transfer*
Monday, May 4th— Toronto, ON — Mod Club*
Wednesday, May 6th — Detroit, MI — The Magic Stick*
Thursday, May 7th — Indianapolis, IN — The Vogue*
Friday, May 8th — St. Louis, MO — Ready Room*
Saturday, May 9th — Chicago, IL — Concord
Music Hall*
Sunday, May 10th — Minneapolis, MN — First Avenue*
Friday, May 15th — Seattle, WA —Showbox*
Saturday, May 16th — Portland, OR — Crystal Ballroom*
Monday, May 18th — Salt Lake City, CO — Metro
Music Hall*
Tuesday, May 19th — Denver, CO — Gothic Theatre*
Thursday, May 21st — Las Vegas, NV — Brooklyn Bowl*
Friday, May 22nd — San Diego, CA — SOMA*
Friday, May 29th — Los Angeles, CA — Shrine Expo Hall^*
Friday, June 5th — Mexico City, MX — TBA
Sunday, June 7th — El Paso, TX — Lowbrow Palace*
Tuesday, June 9th — McAllen, TX — Cine El Rey*
Wednesday, June 10th — San Antonio, TX — Paper Tiger*
Thursday, June 11th — Dallas, TX — Granada Theater*
Friday, June 12th — Houston, TX — White Oak
Music Hall*
Saturday, June 13th — Austin, TX — Emo's*
Sunday, June 14th — Oklahoma City, OK — The Jones Assembly*
Wednesday, June 17th — Orlando, FL — The Abbey*
Thursday, June 18th — Miami, FL — The Ground*
Friday, June 19th — Tampa, FL — Orpheum*
Saturday, June 20th — Atlanta, GA — Variety Playhouse*
Sunday, June 21st — Nashville, TN — Brooklyn Bowl*
Tuesday, June 23rd — Birmingham, AL — Saturn*
Wednesday, June 24th — Charlotte, NC — Visulite Theatre*
Thursday, June 25th — Raleigh, NC — Lincoln Theatre*
Friday, June 26th — Richmond, VA — The National*
Saturday, June 27th — Washington, DC — 9:30 Club*
