Talkie Talkie

London-based instrumental four-piece Los Bitchos draw their heritage and all-female members from the UK, Sweden, Uruguay, Australia and Turkey, and their influences are from just as broad a pool. Chiefly inspired by the sonic atmosphere of the 80s, Talkie Talkie is a fictional club where analogue and digital techniques collide in gated reverb and campy hi-fi pop, with the rhythms and melodies of cumbia and Anatolian psychedelic rock. The band cite the Black Mirror episode ‘San Junipero’ as an aesthetic, if that helps you. Guitar, synth, bass and drums create a sparklingly rich soundscape in the same vein as bands such as King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, for whom they have played support. The opening track ‘Hi!’ welcomes us with group chants before bass and guitar riffs, underlaid with Latin percussion, take over. The swaggering melody reminds me of Goat and Altın Gün, and the sheer array of different synth and guitar pedal sounds puts one right in that sound world. The slightly more laid-back ‘1K!’ wears its cumbia influences on its sleeve before ‘La Bomba’ smacks straight back in with Turkish guitar and spacey programmed drum sounds. Above all, this is an album of unbridled fun.