Chicano Batman’s 2017 release Freedom Is Free was a breakthrough for the band, blending tropicalia, psych-rock, 70’s looking R&B, and sweet retro-soul sounds. Their 2020 follow up Invisible People is a digitally laced late-night victory lap, steeped in chilled-out, get-down love jams as the band kicks it up a notch; it is an evolution of their style into modern pop sounds
The cohesiveness of the album is present from the bumping dance-ready first notes as “Color of My Life”, (and all of the songs which follow) radiate pastels and neon colors. The disco love song bumping becomes amplified for the all-out party tune “Blank Slate” before the band inserts some slight reggae and tropicalia influences for the slow grooving “I Know It”.
Both the title track and “The Prophet” try to fuse the band’s protest lyrics, with their new dance-pop sound, with mixed results. The title track slows down the dancey vibes and loses its focus while “The Prophet” mixes light soulful sounds, fuzzy guitars, and a skittering chorus conflating Profit and Prophets.
The most successful entries are the funky cuts of first single “Pink Elephant” and the deep grooving “Bella” which comes complete with flutes and electro synths. The burning drug saga contained in the neon-colored dancefloor-ready “Manuel’s Story” and the upbeat motoring of “Polymetronomic Harmony” both are vibrant in their execution of the band’s buzzing themes.
The band (Eduardo Arenasm Carlos Arévalo, Bardo Martinez, Gabriel Villa) worked with Grammy-winning engineer Shawn Everett and had Leon Michels producing so a move to a more polished sound was desired and clearly achieved, yet tracks like “Moment of Joy” and “The Way” both seem to suffer from this newer clean style. “Moment of Joy” lyrically yearns to break out of its mellow musical world while “The Way” simply has too many ideas getting crammed into one song. Chicano Batman is moving in a pop direction as they hope their message and music opens new vistas for the band to explore.
One Response
I can’t for the release of this amazing one, smiles i wanna go invisible