New York art-rock/post punk band BODEGA have unveiled their new single “Cultural Consumer III“, alongside a music video.
The song features on their upcoming album ‘Our Brand Could Be Yr Life‘, due to be released on April 12 through Chrysalis Records. Pre-order your copy here.
Taken from a thematic series of songs with the same title, Cultural Consumer I and II both appear on their new album too, Cultural Consumer III is melodic and direct, with lyrics set inside of a car and all the familiarity of a lost classic. The choppy guitar and bass riffing was designed to evoke the breezy feeling of the great rock and roll car songs of the past, with “No Particular Place to Go” by Chuck Berry and “Roadrunner” by Modern Lovers as key reference points.
Ben Hozie, joint lead vocalist of BODEGA, and the lead on “Cultural Consumer III”, had the following to say about the themes behind their latest song:
“The ‘cultural consumer’ is a character who has become essential to my songwriting for BODEGA. “Cultural Consumer I” was the first song I wrote where I feel like I found the songwriting voice for the band and the ‘cultural consumer’ showed up in the first BODEGA single “How Did This Happen?!” in 2018. The cultural consumer is a middle class bohemian who is addicted to studying culture (both high art and pop culture) and is thus oppressed by it.
In “Cultural Consumer III he has become a new ager who is blasting a killer curated playlist in his car on the way to the airport to fly to a meditation retreat in Taiwan. Despite all of his consuming and questing for self-help, unlike Bob Dylan, he has never once ‘gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.’ He is just buying crap.”
The music video, directed by Luca Balser (who also directed the clips for “Tarkovski” and “City is Taken”) and shot by Hunter Zimny, features the band driving through a lo-fi psychedelic NYC via rear projection and mixed media collage, Luca and Hunter having shot the video with multiple modern and retro cameras pushed in idiosyncratic fashion.
Watch / listen below.
In addition to a small number of May dates in the UK, including Wide Awake and Bearded Theory festivals, the band will perform further headline dates in the UK this October.
BODEGA Upcoming Tour Dates
APRIL
19th – Boston, MA, US – Rockwell
20th – Montreal, QC, CA – Bar le Ritz
21st – Toronto, ON, CA – Garrison
22nd – Cleveland, OH, US – Beachland Tavern
23rd – Chicago, IL, US – Schubas
24th – Pittsburgh, PA, US – Club Café
26th – Philadelphia, PA, US – Latvian Society
27th – Washington, DC, US – Comet Ping Pong
29th – Atlanta, GA, US – The Earl
30th – Savannah, GA, US – El Rocko
MAY
1st – Tampa, FL, US – Hooch and Hive
2nd – Miami, FL, US – Gramps
3rd – Jacksonville, FL, US – The Walrus
4th – Charlotte, NC, US – Snug Harbor
24th – Madrid, ES – Tomavistas Festival
25th – London, UK – Wide Awake Festival
26th – Walton-on-Trent, UK – Bearded Theory Festival
27th – Manchester, UK – New Century Hall
28th – Brighton, UK – Concorde 2
30th – Paris, FR – Le Trabendo
31st – Rennes, FR – Antipode
JUNE
1st – La Rochelle, FR – La Sirene
2nd – Orléans, FR – Astrolabe
OCTOBER
15th – Nottingham, UK – Rescue Rooms
16th – Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club
17th – Glasgow, UK – Room 2
18th – Newcastle, UK – The Cluny
19th – Birmingham, UK – Future Days at The Crossing
21th – Cambridge, UK – Junction 2
22nd – Sheffield, UK – Crookes Social Club
23rd – Bristol, UK – The Lantern
24th – London, UK – Village Underground
Photo Credit: Pooneh Ghana
