"Color My Life" by Chicano Batman: Chicano Batman are a band who are as quirky and fun as their name would suggest! They had a significant adult alt radio hit in early 2017 with the organ driven, '60s sounding, "Friendship (Is A Small Boat In A Storm)". They seemed to go as quickly as they came once that song lost its "new" status, but after an absence of three years, Chicano Batman are back again. Their newest song, "Color My Life", sounds more like '70s funk than '60s psychedelia, but it's still as fun and flavorful as ever! Even the opening line, "Are you a lucid dream?", is worth mentioning, as it doesn't seem like your typical lyrical opening. Chicano Batman have certainly succeeded in coloring my life here, and hopefully they'll do the same for you!
"Don't Believe" by The Psychedelic Furs: The most heavily anticipated song of this week is from a band who hasn't had a big hit since the mid 1980's! '80s movie director, John Hughes, made the Furs a household name with "Pretty In Pink", which was named after the Psychedelic Furs' sleek, Bowie-esque song from the early '80s of the same name. The spooky yet intriguing "Love My Way" and the beautifully haunting "The Ghost In You" are other Furs songs that defined the 1980's. So how do they sound over 30 years later?! Fantastic, actually! "Don't Believe" sounds like David Bowie trying to record a Nirvana song, with its angry yet melodic swirl of guitars, synths, and saxophones ready to pummel the listener the first time he/she hears it! Lead singer Richard Butler attacks religious and financial institutions throughout the song, getting us outside our comfort zones to question authority once and for all!
"Little Bit Sweet" by The Wood Brothers: The Wood Brothers normally give off the vibes of a roots-y jam band. "Little Bit Sweet" continues this sound, but adds an indie-folk slant that they haven't really attempted before (to my knowledge). The guitars here have a particular distortion that makes them sound kind of quaint and "lo-fi" without going into territory that's too avant-garde. There are no particularly distinguishing factors about this song that make it stand out, but it's a cute little ditty that's arrived just in time for the upcoming spring season.
