If the single artwork, above, seems gaudy, then that’s entirely the point: the New Orleans-via-Portland producer and songwriter Tatum Gale is asking you not to judge the book (or in this case, the song) by its cover. About two years since his Both EP, he returned last month with ‘Botanical Babe’, and is quickly following up with ‘New Look, Same Great Flavor’.
Both songs appear on his forthcoming debut album Pretty Green, and what we have here is a hyperpop gem that tips the hat to Gale’s forebears—a little bit of the sorely missed SOPHIE here, a sprinkle of Charli XCX there—while offering more than mere pastiche. It’s his own thing more than anything else: scathing commentary on the rush to be the next big thing.
Speaking about the inspiration behind the song, Gayle says that it’s ‘as hyperpop as the album gets. It’s a super bright, punchy, distorted dance time. It is a collage of some of the gaudy, empty images we’ve seen going out on the town in the pre-and post-pandemic era.’ Out tomorrow as the second single from an album that’s arriving in March(!!), you can have an advance listen below. You should definitely put Pretty Green‘s release in your calendar, as it’s shaping up to be very good indeed.
