All right all you Bang Tango fans, here's the latest poop on another forerunner in the 1990's race toward rock 'n' roll excellence. Quick on the heels of their Mechanic debut album, Psycho Cafe, this Southern California quintet is sporting a new product with a fresh sound.
At press time, the band was wrapping up the studio work on the, as of yet, untitled new album. They've been laying the tracks down at the House of Music in West Orange, New Jersey. To help their creativity come alive is new producer John Jansen (Cinderella's Heartbreak Station, Faster Pussycat). The effort is scheduled for release in March, complete with two ballads titled "Emotions in Gear" and "Midnight Struck" in addition to some new musical twists for the band.
In the new album, says guitarist Mark Knight, "there's all sorts of stuff. It's got the funk. It's got the melodic sense, everything." Apparently, they are trying some different things this time. I can't give you all the details without playing the record in your ear, but you can expect some added goodies in the production. Things like slide guitar, gospel background singers, and the maturing vocals of Joe LeSte.
"Everyone's come a long way as far as the musicianship and the vocals, "relates Mark. "We treaded in new water on this album too. We've written into different influences that we've all absorbed and put into the music. It's a lot more classic than the other album. It's still the blues base, but it just takes it a step further."
Mark reassures that there will be some sultry, swaggering songs in the vein of "Someone Like You," but the new album will be a more varied collection. "The music is a lot more dynamic," he relates. "All the ingredients of the first album are still there, we just wanted to contribute more stuff that we've grown to like more."
So now you have the energetic prowess of the first album's full frontal attack, but with more experienced writing of a band gaining a firm grasp of the musical ropes. "We're going for more of a classic song-oriented type of thing," continues Mark, "not so much a cool riff. Some of the songs were worked up acoustically this time too, which was a deferent format of writing as opposed to the first album."
As the studio work winds down, Bang Tango are getting ready for the road again. While they have yet to assemble a full-length tour in support of the new record, the band is planning some East Coast gigs in January. Mark informed me that they may b filming live concert footage at these shows for inclusion in a video release to precede the album. If you hear of a Bang Tango show in January, attend it. You might be able to shout your way into the band's video. But if you can't, don't worry. The album will be out in March and they should be coming back to the area on tour sometime over the summer.