SOUNDTRACK: CHICANO BATMAN-Tiny Desk (Home) Concert #46 (July 7, 2020).
I first became aware of Chicano Batman (what a great name) a couple years ago either from WXPN or from a Tiny Desk. I didn’t know they’ve been around for ten years.
They have an interesting mellow psychedelic sound that seems to center around Bardo Martinez’ soft croon.
they’ve crafted their musical identity with layers of sound, from vintage organs to the most nuanced of funk grooves.
Although I feel like their music is pretty recognizable, the blurb says that their new album Invisible People
is a major shift in their group sound. As you hear in songs like “Polymetronomic Harmony,” their sound is now much denser, with full-on references to a variety of influences, including the 1973, Herbie Hancock funk-jazz classic Head Hunters, which makes a walk-on appearance in the stack of vinyl just behind guitarist Carlos Arévalo.
“I know It” starts the song in perfect style with Bardo playing guitar and singing along to the melody he’s playing. There’s a funky bass line from Eduardo Arenas and the soft echoing guitar chords from Carlos Arévalo. The time changes at the end of the verses are a nice touch.
Bardo introduces the band and then for “Moment of Joy” Bardo switches from the guitar to a great retro-sounding keyboard. Carlos plays a slow echoing guitar as the band lays a groove around them.
“Color my life” opens with great sliding then high note bass from Eduardo with scratchy wah wah from Carlos and clicky drums from Gabriel Villa. Carlos plays some unexpectedly wild buzzy guitar solos throughout and then ends the song with another sound change for the guitar before the song abruptly ends.
“Polymetronomic Harmony” opens with a pretty guitar intro and thumping bass. The song just feels like it’s building to something and after a fake out with soft keys after the first verse, the song takes off with roaring guitars and the propulsive rhythm section.
This is a really fun set and I’ll bet they are great live. They were scheduled to play in Philly during the quarantine. I’m definitely going to have to check them out next year.
[READ: July 11, 2020] “The Birthday Present”
I wanted to like this story more than I did. It had an intriguing premise but it seemed to get lost in the musings of the main character. Some of what she thought about was interesting, but I think it could have been much shorter.
Ariel has been married to Roberto for many years. She is younger than he is (she is his second wife). Things have gotten steady and calm in their marriage.
She has classic American beauty–she is tall and solid–which is something of a novelty in Italy. Roberto’s friend Flavio had often pursued Ariel but had recently given up. He now liked to give her a hard time instead. She had been talking to Flavio and he suggested that she get Roberto a prostitute for his fifty-fifth birthday. He wanted to see how she would react (she was believed to be an American prude), so she told him she thought it was a great idea. And she called the woman he had jokingly suggested.
Ariel believed wholly in fidelity. But she she was Roberto’s second wife. He had a few indiscretions during their marriage. But she felt this would be an interesting gift.
She would make a date with Roberto for dinner. But she would arrange for two prostitutes to show up and dine with him. And then they would all go back to Flavio’s apartment to do whatever they wanted.
On his birthday, their children greeted him as is tradition–waking him up early and jumping on him. Ariel gave him a package that he was not supposed to open until dinner–it contained money and silk underwear. The underwear was to go to the woman he liked better.
Then she had the whole day to herself. She never once had misgivings about her plan.
She drives around, checking out the prostitutes who line Italy’s streets–she felt badly about them being there when she first arrived in the country. But she has gotten used to them. There were one or two that she slowed down in front of to really look at–they were very pretty. She wondered about the women who were with her husband.
He called her at 8:15 to say his surprise had arrived, They weren’t dressed for a fancy restaurant and he did not look forward to eating with them. But he thanked her for the present.
She spent he rest of the evening in her own head and then was pleased at how clean he smelled when he arrived home that night.
I’m not sure what I expected from this story but it was too meandering.
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I’ve enjoyed a bunch of Chicano Batman songs over the last few years. When I saw the Tiny Desk concert, they seemed so cool, that I really wanted to see them live.
