This Is Our Jam: Cuckoo Chaos, “Just Ride It”

When I saw Cuckoo Chaos at the Bowery Ballroom in May, I noticed an older, white-haired gentlemen standing a few feet behind me bobbing his head. The band had driven for two days straight after having van trouble, and arrived just minutes before their first-ever NYC show. Throughout their set, they ripped through a series of tropical, rhythmically complex indiepop songs with the tightness and intensity of old pros. They didn’t seem nervous at all; it’s probably better they had no idea David Byrne was in the audience.

“Just Ride It” is an effortlessly smooth summer jam that owes more than a little bit to The Talking Heads. The vocals are by turns buttery smooth and staccato-fidgety, with the instrumentation engaged in a similar oscillation between Battles-indebted math-funk and a tiki lounge act. It’s a weirdly compelling combination, relaxed but never lazy, and feels built for repeated listens. Cuckoo Chaos hail from the San Diego, California, and the warm SoCal sun has deeply saturated their groove. A tacit endorsement from David Byrne should be enough, but “Just Ride It” needs no recommendation other than the one given by your own ears.