Chico Romano, the artist formerly known as Professor Caveman, has released an EP, “Vol. 5,” the first single for which, “UR My Best Friend,” is the Makin Waves Song of the Week. PHOTO BY HARRY SKLANS

Chico Romano, the artist formerly known as Professor Caveman, has a new EP, “Vol. 5,” featuring a series of vignettes exploring love amidst confusion, weaving together Motown funk, bedroom pop, Tropacália, ‘60s soul, and música popular brasileira into lean, emotional songwriting.

The collection includes “UR My Best Friend,” the Makin Waves Song of the Week.

As the Makin Waves Song of the Week, “UR My Best Friend” also can be heard between 6 and 8 p.m. on Nov. 18 on “Radio Jersey” at ThePenguinRocks.com. If you miss it, you also can tune in any time in the archives at The Penguin or MixCloud.

With the help of John Evers of The Jack Moves, Arthur Shea of indie-pop ensemble Joy Again, and Carlos Hernandez of the bands Ava Luna and Carlos Truly, the Dominican-American singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist pulls inspiration from the zeitgeist of latinidad, blending worlds of influence into a homespun lo-fi pop excursion uniquely his own.

Chico’s voice sits at the forefront of his production, flickering between breezy flights of soul-saturated melodicism and languid quasi-croons soaking in layers of reverb and tape hiss. His songwriting is influenced by everything from Caetano Veloso, The Temptations, Mayer Hawthorne, and Jerry Paper. His songs float over multi-tracked guitar jangles and punchy drums, locking into Motown girl-group grooves as easily as they descend into knotty jazz chords and quick rhythmic turnarounds. 

For more info, click https://linktr.ee/chicoromano. 

Bob Makin has produced Makin Waves since 1988. Follow Makin Waves on Facebook and contact Bob at makinwaves64@yahoo.com.