Bootchy Temple – Childish Bazar
According to that famous bible of truth the urban dictionary, a “bootchy” may or may not be a well-endowed Asian woman. Then again, by way of cross-translation, it may mean nothing at all to these five young scamps from Bordeaux, perhaps to them just a collection of sounds free to roam without the weight of semantics. In any case, they often give the impression via their minimal jangle-pop of not having a care in the world, of just drifting along at the edge of life’s rich flow.
Now a shade more melodic and approachable by consequence than on their 2015 debut The Gardener Sleeps In His Golden Bed, Childish Bazar is a gently lilting collection of scrappy indie, almost pastoral acoustic guitars coaxing a light psychedelic swirl out of the beautifully dappled mix. Bookended by two four-minute tracks and with ten in between that come nowhere near, it’s all very laidback, a pleasantly accented vocal bobbing around small crests like a discarded beer can in an outdoor swimming pool.
Blissful and bleary-eyed, “Space Bubble”, for example, tumbles and churns over stoned, soft-play riffs while “The Boy’s Fate” plugs in for a blurry bout of quick-fire shuffles. Behind the charming shambles there’s a tinge of sadness though, simple melodies and simple chords a loose cover for a possible strain of existential malaise, the smile of a track like “Shake Shake Shake” dropping like a mask on the aptly titled “No One’s Face”. We each have our ups and downs, of course, and Bootchy Temple are no different in this regard. Their blasé insouciance to deal with both the highs and the lows that life throws at you, however, is as impressive as their carefree album.
~Childish Bazar is released May 5th 2017 via Howlin’ Banana and Hellzapoppin’ Records.~