Fresh from a run of live dates in Austin, Texas last week BODEGA return today with their latest single, “Cultural Consumer III,” a livewire, fiercely immediate new track and the third to land from their much-anticipated new album, Our Brand Could Be Yr Life, coming digitally April 12, and on CD + vinyl, April 26, via Chrysalis Records. The Bandcamp release includes the exclusive “Cultural Consumer IV” ft. former BODEGA Bay member, Joe Wakeman.

The closer in a thematic series of songs with the same title, “Cultural Consumer I” and “Cultural Consumer II” both appear on their new album too, “Cultural Consumer III” is melodic and direct, with 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 was directed by Luca Balser (who also directed the clips for “Tarkovski” and “City is Taken”) and shot by Hunter Zimny. It 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. Video artist Joe Wakeman was involved in the tech glitch-out fun as well. At the very end of the video, Joe receives a Criterion-style DVD for his troubles.

Tour Dates:

04/12 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
04/16 – New York, NY @ Rough Trade
04/19 – Boston, MA @ The Rockwell
04/20 – Montreal, PQ @ Bar le Ritz
04/21 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
04/22 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern
04/23 – Chicago, IL @ Schuba’s
04/24 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Café
04/26 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Latvian Society
04/27 – Washington, DC @ Comet Ping Pong
04/29 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
04/30 – Savannah, GA @ El Rocko
05/01 – Tampa, FL @ Hooch & Hive
05/02 – Miami, FL @ Gramps
05/03 – Jacksonville, FL @ The Walrus
05/04 – Charlotte, NC @ Snug Harbor
05/24 – Madrid, ES @ Tomavistas Festival
05/25 – London, UK @ Wide Awake Festival
05/26 – Walton-on-Trent, UK @ Bearded Theory Festival
05/27 – Manchester, UK @ New Century Hall
05/28 – Brighton, UK @ Concorde 2
05/30 – Paris, FR @ Le Trabendo
05/31 – Rennes, FR @ Antipode
06/01 – La Rochelle, FR @ La Sirene
06/02 – Orléans, FR @ Astrolabe
09/19 – Hamburg, DE @ Reeperbahn Festival
09/20 – Copenhagen, DK @ Loppen
09/21 – Berlin, DE @ Neue Zukunft
09/23 – Cologne, DE @ Bumann & Sohn
09/24 – Münster, DE @ Gleis 22
09/25 – Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg
09/26 – Utrecht, NL @ Ekko
09/27 – Rotterdam, NL @ Rotown
09/28 – Groningen, NL @ Vera
09/30 – Brussels, BE @ Botanique (Museum)
10/01 – Lille, FR @ L’Aeronef
10/02 – Angers, FR @ Le Chabada
10/03 – Bordeaux, FR @ Rock School Barbey
10/04 – Donostia-San Sebastian, ES @ Dabadaba
10/07 – Valencia, ES @ 16 Toneladas
10/08 – Barcelona, ES @ Sala Upload
10/10 – Nimes, FR @ Paloma
10/11 – Lyon, FR @ Marche Gare
10/12 – Fribourg, CH @ Fri-Son
10/15 – Nottingham, UK @ Rescue Rooms
10/16 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
10/17 – Glasgow, UK @ Room 2
10/18 – Newcastle, UK @ The Cluny
10/19 – Birmingham, UK @ Future Days at The Crossing
10/21 – Cambridge, UK @ Junction 2
10/22 – Sheffield, UK @ Crookes Social Club
10/23 – Bristol, UK @ The Lantern
10/24 – London, UK @ Village Underground
11/01 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy
11/02 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
11/05 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
11/07 – Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall

Stream “Cultural Consumer III” HERE.