Sometimes, when bands come to work with big producers, industry pressures kick in, and they start to sound less like themselves. Hearteningly, when Chicano Batman hooked up with John Congleton — who's worked with everyone from St. Vincent to Brian Wilson to Alvvays — the opposite happened.

"At the core of it, we still do what we've always done from the beginning," their guitarist, Carlos Arévalo, tells GRAMMY.com. "Which is: we get in a room, we get in a circle, look at each other and start recording the songs together, which is like jazz."

Indeed, Arévalo comes from a rich jazz background — and that helps explain the sumptuous sound of their new album, Notebook Fantasy, due out March 29. When you hear highlights like "Fly," "Hojas Secas" and "Fairytale Love," you'll grasp exactly what he means.

"It's amazing what happens when you put really good musicians in a room. You give them some direction and you say, 'Go.' Magic happens," he says, characterizing Chicano Batman as "old school" in how they approach their craft.

"We always know we're going to have that 'it' factor, and the magic is going to be in the room if we're in a room playing together," Arévalo continues. "That's what we've always done, and we continue to do on this record."

Read on for a full interview with Arévalo about how Notebook Fantasy came to be.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

The textures on Notebook Fantasy really spoke to me. Can you take me through Chicano Batman's textural thinking on this record?

When we met with [John Congleton] him to talk about the album, he was like, "I've listened to your past records, I love them. I feel like the sounds you're going for on those records are great, the songs are great, but I want the songs to come through more clearly on this record. 

"Let's not use a lot of distortion and compression to color your sound. Let's go for something more open-sounding, more dynamic." Which is very in line with record making pre-2000 — like, '90s, '80s, '70s.

And so that meant going to a proper studio — Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood — and using those classic recording desks, those mixing consoles, the API, the Neves — those things that are just so high quality that when you record into them, they're picking up every bit of musical clarity from your amplifier, your voice, the bass.

When you hear it on playback, it's just so beautifully colored without having to add all these extra things to make it sound good. Which was our process in the past because we didn't have access to things like that. We were using DIY equipment, and sometimes that means you have to use a bunch of things to make it sound the way you want it to sound.

But when you work with equipment like what they have at Sunset Sound, it's like, less is more. You get what you pay for: you have a great sounding room, a great sounding mixing desk, all you're going to have to do is play well and it's going to pick up that.

And so yes, the record has these beautiful textures that are just open, transparent, and big-sounding. A lot of it comes down to obviously the players, but using those classic pieces of gear that were used on the Doors' records, Prince records, Led Zeppelin records, Rolling Stones records... literally the same piece of equipment.

Did any albums from the canon come to mind as you crafted Notebook Fantasy?

Definitely. Steely Dan has always been a big, quirky inspiration for me. I unapologetically, actually like Steely Dan, and I appreciate their records, because they bridged that gap that I sought after for many years.

[That aesthetic] had been there for decades before I knew about it, but I was always like, "Man, where's the rock band using this jazz virtuosity or these complex harmonic chord progressions, mixing it with rock's danger?"

And I found out about Steely Dan through a good friend of mine when I was 18. He put me onto them and I was like, "This is kind of smooth, but it's kind of subversive." And then eventually after multiple listens, I was like, this is amazing. These guys are incredible.

And so anyways, that was definitely a point of reference in terms of sonics, just the clarity of those records. Those are the most famous recordings in terms of production. You put them on your turntable, you turn the volume up, and it feels like you're in the room with the musicians. So, that was definitely something to try to attain as best as we could.

Give me a song on the album that reflects that Dan dyad.

Probably "Fly," which is the lead single. That one has Prophet synthesizers and Junos. I mean, they didn't use those kinds of things, but it has a Rhodes as well.

Actually, you know what? Maybe not "Fly." It would probably be "Live Today."The song was one of the last songs to make the record. We were running out of time and we were trying to figure out what song to record last.

I showed that song to the group, and Congleton loved it immediately, because he understood that it was something that could compliment the rest of the material. It was a compositional texture we hadn't used yet on the record. And so I had the parts already written out, but I wanted to see what would happen if I was just like, "Here you go. Let's start tracking."

We worked on that song with this keyboardist named Quincy McCreary, who plays with Jack White and Unknown Mortal Orchestra. He was in town for a gig at the Forum with Jack White, but he had the morning off.He did his thing on the Fender Roads. And then we had this amazing drummer, Tamir Barzilay, who plays with Jason Mraz, and he's played with Macy Gray. Incredible instincts and just musicality on the drums.

It was honestly like a Steely Dan moment. We were directing the song, we're like the inferior musicians, but the songwriters, but we have these amazing musicians there to blossom the tunes.

That's what happened on a song like "Live Today." It was just fast because we worked fast because it's tracking live, and it was immediately gratifying. And I remember Congleton playing back the song, he was like, "This is great. I love this song."

And that was really cool to hear because Congleton kind of has a poker face and he's no bullshit, and he's very direct and objective, which is what you want in a producer. And I remember he did show emotion right there, and he was like, "This is awesome." And so that was fun.

How does Notebook Fantasy reflect your evolution as a guitarist and keyboardist?

Every time I record a new album with Chicano Batman, I try to approach it differently, and build upon what I had recorded in the past. But in doing so, I try to do something different — take myself out of my comfort zone.

In the past, I would write my guitar solos because I want them to be memorable, melodic, singable. And on this record, I didn't do that. I used the instincts of John [Congleton] and our bassist, Eduardo, to help guide me into getting the best takes in certain songs.

So a song like "Live Today," the guitar solo, that was improvised. That was the first take. And I remember I recorded it and I thought, "I don't know, that was probably terrible." And John and Eduardo were like, "That was amazing. Let's move on." And then when you have trust like that with people, it's easy. Cause then you don't have to doubt yourself, you just listen to them and move forward.

Same thing with the end of the song, we have a song called "Parallels." It's like an improvisatory guitar outro. That was done on the third take. I did one pass improvise, and it was more typical of what would be my comfort zone as a musician.

And then, I got some feedback from John and Eduardo, like: "No, try to play here on these spaces." And I did. And again, like I said, the proof was when Congleton jumped up and was just like, "Yes!" He just evoked a sound of approval. I must be doing something right right now, even though I don't understand it.

Because you can't be objective. You're just purely trying to be emotional as a musician and do something that hopefully is felt by the listener. And he was there to be like, "That was the take. Don't overthink it. Let's move on." And listening back, he was right. I really am very proud of those guitar parts.

Give me some MVP moments from your bandmates on Notebook Fantasy.

Eduardo's bass playing on "Fly" is just incredible. It's so funky. It's so pocket, and it's so melodic. It's everything. I just can't stop listening to that take.

And from Bardo... Man, Bardo did so amazing on all the tracks. I mean, on the title track, "Notebook Fantasy," he's reaching and hitting notes that I didn't know he had in him, and he crushed it absolutely on the entire record.

Those guys just continually pleasantly surprise me. Every time we get into the studio, it's just like, Yes, this is why I work with these people. Because they're so talented and they're able to reach inside of themselves and pull something out that's new.

And what's your MVP moment? Pressure's on now!

Probably the song "Hojas Secas."

That's one of the songs Eduardo wrote, and he had a very clear vision for what he wanted the guitars to do on that, the lead guitars. And he wanted a column response, but he didn't want bluesy Page licks, or Hendrix licks. He wanted something that was more brash and harsh, but still had an element of beauty.

And his guidance and Congleton's guidance on that just really helped me get out parts that I didn't know I had in me at all. I didn't know I could play like that. I probably knew I could play like that, but I didn't know I would ever get to use those techniques within this band.

It was just a moment where I was like, Man, we could do anything in this band. As long as we're being true to ourselves as musicians and trying to grow, there is no limit to this.

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