Tchotchke – Playin’ Dumb
Tchotchke, NYC’s playful, tongue in cheek rock trio, release the title track/video off of Playin’ Dumb, their new album out September 5th.
“Playin’ Dumb” follows a string of bright and playful singles, “Now I Love You,” “Poor Girl,” and “Did You Hear?”
On the Joey Ramone-esque “Playin’ Dumb,” a narrator laments behind a wall-of-sound arrangement that she keeps playing the “dim dum-dum” so that her boyfriend feels smart—even though she hates it.
Throughout the “Playin’ Dumb” video, directed by Ambar Navarro, members of the band blunder through a chess game with a dog, blow dry their hair in the bathtub, and fly a kite in the middle of a storm without letting up their “dim dum-dum act.” Bassist Eva Chambers elaborates, “We wanted to close the album with a quick and catchy anthemic song. Our goal was to keep the songwriting deliberately “dumb” and simple, while staying true to Tchotchke’s sass, sarcasm, and key-changes. It’s about slipping into a sweet and clueless act to protect someone else’s delicate ego.”
Tchotchke is Anastasia Sanchez (vocals, drums), Eva Chambers (bass, keys, vocals) and Emily Tooraen (guitar, vocals). Playin’ Dumb, produced by The Lemon Twigs, is sophisticated and sonically complex, leaning heavily into the band’s love of 60’s rock and outsider popsters. Channeling a Shangri-Las style of conversational vocals, the cast of characters that Tchotchke personifies in Playin’ Dumb embody classic girl group traits of lovelorn winners and losers. These narrators are hyper-feminine caricatures of the band themselves, with aspects of their personalities amplified to the point of high drama. An original board game designed by Eva accompanies the vinyl release of Playin’ Dumb. It’s a colorful tabletop trip of girlspeak, gossip and truth or dare prompts that reflect the themes of the album, as well as the band’s personalities and style.
Just in time to celebrate the release of Playin’ Dumb, Tchotchke will tour across the east coast and midwest with Hunx and His Punx. Tchotchke’s live show is vivacious and one not to miss.
Tchotchke Tour Dates
(all with Hunx and his Punx)
Tue. Sept. 9 – New York, NY @ Warsaw
Thu. Sept. 11 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
Fri. Sept. 12 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
Sat. Sept. 13 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
Sun. Sept. 14 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
Tue. Sept. 16 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
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