New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Chicano Batman releases "Pink Elephant," the second track off their forthcoming album 'Invisible People' (out May 1st via ATO Records). The slinky track, premiering on The FADER, is imbued with the sensuous psychedelia that the LA-based synth-funk four-piece has become known for carried by
Carlos Arévalo's steady riff and Eduardo Arenas' funky bassline over a lover who's "rare as a pink elephant".
The accompanying studio session video was shot at Hollywood's legendary Barefoot Studios, a recording home for
Stevie Wonder ("Songs in the Key of Life"), The Jackson 5, Jimi Hendrix, Marvin Gaye, and now, Chicano Batman's upcoming album. It's an aesthetic throwback to old-school public access TV and revered 70's British music show The Old Grey Whistle Test. It captures their uncomplicated authenticity in action, with lead singer Bardo Martinez swinging in time to the groovy track as he dons a green fade and pink glove.
Watch via the FADER: https://www.thefader.com/2020/03/31/chicano-batman-pink-elephant-video-premiere
"The demo version was titled '40 Dollar Carwash,'" says the band. "On his birthday, Eduardo got one and the freshness of his whip reminded him of his West Coast roots listening to hip hop growing up in 90's L.A. With Pharcyde and
Dr. Dre in mind, along with Gabriel's technical drum prowess, they tracked a bunch of ideas that were boiled down to the hook at the band's rehearsal space. 'Pink Elephant' is an edgy portrayal of a cinematic landscape driven home by a deep pocket; with an unmistakable party vibe."
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 Latin alternative sound has become a more pointed, densely layered soundscape. 'Invisible People' is an illuminating and encapsulating listen, one that hasn't lost the essence that put Chicano Batman on the map and makes a stirring point about the times we're living in.
The album's debut single "Color my life" was lauded by Rolling Stone as a "tropicalia-infused thesis on a utopian world where factors like race, gender and class do not preclude the potential for human connection and solidarity" and garnered support from Rivers Cuomo and Danger Mouse. It debuted at # 3 on KCRW's Top
Music Charts and is featured on Spotify "Ultimate Indie" playlist.
Listen: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-latin/chicano-batman-new-album-invisible-people-2020-tour-957558/
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
Like all the most iconic music born from the West Coast, Chicano Batman's 'Invisible People' offers an instant escape into the beautifully strange world they inhabit. Throughout their fourth album, vocalist/keyboardist Bardo Martinez, guitarist
Carlos Arévalo, bassist Eduardo Arenas, and drummer Gabriel Villa channel the kinetic spirit of their city into a wildly shapeshifting sound, ultimately finding an unstoppable joy in following their most outrageous instincts. Produced by Leon Michels (The Carters, A$AP Rocky, Lee Fields & the Expressions) and mixed by Shawn Everett (Vampire Weekend,
Alabama Shakes, Beck), 'Invisible People' taps into the unbridled creativity Chicano Batman previously brought to their 2009 self-titled debut, 2014's 'Cycles Of Existential Rhyme,' and 2017's 'Freedom Is Free' (their first release since signing to ATO Records). But as evidenced on songs like lead single "Color My Life" and on the album's emotionally raw title track (whose lyrics examine race as a scientific fallacy), 'Invisible People' embodies elements of everything from krautrock to hip-hop—all while capturing the powerful energy the band's shown in touring with artists like
Alabama Shakes, Portugal The Man, and Jack White. The result is Chicano Batman's most imaginative body of work yet, a collection of songs that could only come from their own idiosyncratic minds.
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