Batman Winks (formally Atlanta Girl) has been all about confrontation on the small amount of music he’s released over the past couple of years. Obviously taking cues from LA pop weirdo Ariel Pink (and not shy about declaring his love for the dude), his songs have often deliberately been hard to listen to or, at times, just bad. Even when he stumbles across a good riff, he has to drop in a panicked scream. He stumbles across a great pop melody, and he warps it with a jittery chorus and spoken-word sample. It has been his angle, and he’s done it well so far.
On new track “✝ (Sacred Song),” though, Batman Winks finds a way to make his easiest-on-the-ears song yet…while still making it a touch unsettling. For all the weird noises and yells on earlier Batman Winks’ songs, the strangest sound was always the lead vocals – dude just does not have a polished voice (even more challenging than Ariel Pink). But here, he’s recruited Tokyo artist Gloomy to handle the main singing parts and…she actually sounds really good. Batman Winks himself isn’t out of the mix entirely – his singing pops up a bit deeper in the mix later – but its placement makes for a far better and creepier vibe…especially when coupled with the coily guitar. Every bit as strange as before, but now at least a little easier to dive into. Listen above.