Release Radar: Free Range Buddhas "American Dream"
The Santa Fe band's latest single is a great song about a bad situation
Good Morning!
Today we’re listening to ‘American Dream’ by Santa Fe New Mexico-based Free Range Buddhas.
Today, we’re pointing the Subaru south and heading for New Mexico—specifically, Santa Fe, home of Free Range Buddhas. This might be the land of Enchantment, but life in 2024 can be disheartening even in the desert. People in the City Different aren’t immune to the same issues we all face, including increasingly unaffordable housing.
Staring down deadlines for both a songwriting competition and finding a place to live, frontwoman Francesca Jozette did what many of us do: She took out her phone and started scrolling, looking to be distracted for a little bit. reading through rental listings, the angst kicked up, but the writer's block melted away, and she quickly penned the lyrics for “American Dream.”
From Jozette:
'That's it. Just write about what you're actually dealing with right now, right in this moment.' The emotions are all here. Who cares if it's depressing? Write what you know. At least it will be authentic…The lines 'Is my life only a dream? Am I as real as I seem?' refers to multiple things," says Jozette. "They're also about participating in a songwriting contest that felt like some bizarre dream I was in…
Disillusionment is something a lot of people, particularly in this country, are really struggling with right now and have been for some time. It's especially felt as we're on the precipice of another presidential election. It seems to me that there are two ways in which people are choosing to deal with this conflict: One way is to start seeing people who are different from you as the enemy even though we're all experiencing pain as a result of a system that isn't working for any of us. The second way is beginning to see the truth of the matter, which is that we have more in common with the unhoused guy on the corner than we will ever have in common with the billionaires and corporate moguls who benefit the most from the rigged reality that is actually the 'American Dream,' which is just unregulated gluttony for money and power."
“American Dream” is the lead single from the band’s upcoming Hatched LP and follows up this summer’s Wild Woman track. The record will be out in early ‘25 on Mama Manana Records.
The rhythm section of drummer Malachi Roberts and bassist Mathiew McClinton keep the back end nailed down and in the pocket, freeing lead guitarist Jake Montiel and rhythm man Justin Pucila to lay some riffs across the top. The result is an upbeat, radio-friendly track with plenty of catchy psych-rock harmonies and an infectious groove.
Jozette and Motniel didn’t share how the contest went, but this track is a winner.
Listen:
Free Range Buddhas | American Dream (single) 2024
Click the record to listen via Bandcamp.
As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this record!
Thanks for being here,
Kevin—
Groovy track! Looking forward to the record.