About The Private Language and “Cali Girls”
There are beautiful people all over the world, but it’s fair to say that none of those people have been sung about quite as often — or as enthusiastically — as women from California. In songs, California girls are proxies for the qualities of the Golden State itself and the lifestyle it promises visitors: glamorous, carefree, party-ready, effortlessly exciting. They’re an embodiment of sunshine and an aspiration- something to emulate and desire. The newest song celebrating California girls lives up to the high standards set by its world-famous forerunners. The Private Language have a contemporary sound, but they’re enthusiastic carriers of pop tradition, too, and on “Cali Girls,” they match our collective fantasy to music that’s as radiant and breezy as a gorgeous day on the Pacific Coast.
It’s also subtly sophisticated. “Cali Girls” is danceable for sure — it’s designed to get the club floor moving. But this is no straightforward thumper. Instead, it’s a track that’s firmly grounded in the history of electro-pop, with overtones of splashy new wave, ’80s sophistifunk, and mesmerizing disco. The songwriting architecture is sturdy: “Cali Girls’ is a piece of electronic music that could be performed on an acoustic piano and still be powerful, and probably danceable, too. It’s graced by a buoyant vocal from Private Language vocalist Blake Lewis, driven by an elastic bass groove from producer KJ Sawka, and animated by the pair’s insatiable appetite for beauty in all forms.
About the video
The production builds on the runaway success of the group’s electro-pop update of the Tears For Fears classic “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” which simultaneously demonstrated The Private Language’s respect for pop history and pitch-perfect ears for contemporary sound. The “Rule the World” clip introduced the duo’s distinctive look, too: sharp, stylish clothing and wild sunglasses that appear to be melting on the musicians’ faces. The shades are back in the new video, as Lewis and Sawka bring the heat to a makeshift stage on a poolside patio at a backyard party in Hollywood. Yet a clip for a song called “Cali Girls” requires some pretty women — and The Private Language delivers. We follow a pair of party girls from their home (decorated in classic Golden State architectural style, naturally) to a convertible with the top down to their destination. When they break out in a dance routine in front of the pool, we think there’s a pretty good chance that you’ll come to the same conclusion about California girls that the band has.
