Acclaimed psych-soul band and Los Angeles institution Chicano Batman release their latest single “Live Today” along with a live performance of the track directed by acclaimed filmmaker Eric Coleman (Eminem, Mary J. Blige). The song is the third offering from their forthcoming album Notebook Fantasy, out this Friday, March 29th via ATO Records.
Born from a chord progression composed by Carlos Arévalo while practicing guitar and bolstered by lyrics and vocals from Bardo, the album-opening “Live Today” emerges as an empowered meditation on cutting through the chaos and finding your own version of peace, building a gloriously bombastic mood with its slinky grooves and otherworldly synth.
About the track, Arévalo shares “When I brought this idea to the band, I was inspired to record a big and punchy song arrangement with minimal elements. How fat sounding could we get a completed track with a live band recording and playing their instruments in a room together at the same time, with minimal overdubs? Ol’ school, right? Although sonically different, I liken this song’s performance to an electric jazz quartet, where if you don’t record its off the cuff energy then its lost to the universe forever, thankfully John Congleton captured it all!”
Chicano Batman first announced Notebook Fantasy in January alongside the release of the album’s debut single “Fly,” a lovestruck reverie lit up with gauzy textures and heavenly group vocals. The band performed the track last week on Jimmy Kimmel Live! – watch the full performance HERE. They followed up with the release of “Era Primavera” last month, a symphonic love song inspired by vocalist/lyricist Bardo’s fascination with 1960s Latin ballads.
Additionally, Chicano Batman will also be featured on A24’s forthcoming Everyone’s Getting Involved: A Tribute to Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense album.
The band will be embarking on an expansive coast-to-coast North American Tour beginning next month, culminating in a massive homecoming with a headlining performance at The Kia Forum. The group will be joined by acclaimed Colombian-Canadian singer-songwriter Lido Pimienta and El Monte’s The Red Pears along the tour. Prior to the tour kickoff, the group will celebrate the album release with in-store signings at Fingerprints in Long Beach, CA on March 30 and Super in Los Angeles, CA on March 29.
Notebook Fantasy Tracklist:
- Live Today
- Notebook Fantasy
- Parallels
- Beautiful Daughter
- Era Primavera
- Fly
- Lei Lá
- Tears Away
- The Way You Say It (feat. Say She She)
- Hojas Secas
- Losing My Mind
- Fairytale Love
Chicano Batman Tour Dates
4/19 – Las Vegas, NV – Brooklyn Bowl*
4/20 – Phoenix, AZ – Van Buren*
4/21 – Albuquerque, NM – The El Rey Theater*
4/22 – El Paso, TX – Lowbrow Palace*
4/24 – Oklahoma City, OK – Tower Theatre*
4/25 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall*
4/26 – Austin, TX – Austin Psych Fest @ The Far Out Lounge
4/27 – Dallas, TX – The Factory*
4/28 – New Orleans, LA – House of Blues*
5/1 – Bentonville, AR – The Momentary*
5/2 – St. Louis, MO – Delmar Hall*
5/3 – Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl*
5/4 – Atlanta, GA – Shaky Knees Festival
5/7 – Richmond, VA – The National*
5/8 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club*
5/9 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel*
5/10 – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club*
5/11 – North Adams, MA – Hunter Center Mass Moca*
5/12 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer*
5/15 – Columbus, OH – The Bluestone*
5/16 – Indianapolis, IN – The Vogue*
5/17 – Chicago, IL – Salt Shed*
5/18 – Minneapolis, MN – Uptown Theater*
6/20 – Seattle, WA – Moore Theatre*
6/21 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater*
6/22 – Boise, ID – Knitting Factory*
6/24 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot*
6/25 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre*
6/26 – Taos, NM – Taos Mesa Brewing Mothership*
6/28 – San Diego, CA – Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre*
6/29 – Los Angeles, CA – The Kia Forum*^
6/30 – San Francisco, CA – TBA
8/29 – Amsterdam, NL – Tolhuistuin
8/31 – Manchester, UK – Manchester Psych Fest
9/3 – London, UK – Lafayette
9/4 – Paris, FR – La Maroquinerie
9/26 – Guadalajara, MX – C3 Stage
9/27 – Queretaro, MX – Foro Indie Rocks!
9/28 – Mexico City, MX – Auditorio BB
Openers:
* Lido Pimienta
^ The Red Pears
