Kevin Bronson on December 1st, 2021

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Manuel the Band makes salt-of-the-earth rock ’n’ roll. And since the earth in its native Southern California is a pretty diverse place, the sextet’s music is a melting pot of folk, blues and pop. The finished product is kinetic classic rock (think Kings of Leon or My Morning Jacket) that reflects the irrepressible spirit of the band’s founder, singer-guitarist Manuel Grajeda.

He’s joined by pedal steel player George Madrid, saxophonist Matt Kalin and trombonist Richard Fernandez, all backed by the sturdy rhythm section of bassist Kevin Nowacki and drummer Brandon Charlesworth. “I’m a fan of Young the Giant, John Mayer, Kings of Leon, Dave Matthews Band and Dispatch,” says Grajeda, who grew the Long Beach-based band from his solo project starting in 2017 and helmed the release of MTB’s debut album, “Room for Complication,” two years later. “George plays pedal steel, which is a country instrument, but also works with a lot of jazz artists. Our drummer, Brandon, is a big fan of bands that blend lo-fi hip-hop with rock, like Gorillaz. We listen to it all.”

Manuel the Band’s second album, “Things That Can’t Be Seen,” is due Feb. 4. Made with producer-engineer Jonny Bell at Long Beach’s Jazzcats Studio, the album was intended to be an EP, but, Madrid says, “we just kept recording. Manuel wasn’t going to stop writing songs, and we all wanted to keep going.”

Made with the pandemic as a backdrop, much of it sounds celebratory. “In the end I know / I could end up alone / So was it worth it? / Hell yeah, everyday,” Grajeda declares on the new single “Hell Yeah Everyday,” which comes out today. Backed by spirited horns, it’s a call to go for it.

“This was a really fun song to write,” Grajeda says. “First off, it’s less serious than the other tunes. While the lyrics are about what can be the serious nature of ‘making it as an artist,’ the melody is upbeat, happy and overall joyous. In the studio, we got to experiment with a lot of different amps, sound effects, drum patterns and percussion, messing around with the bass sounds. … It was really cool to see how far we could take it.

“Out of all the songs on the record, I believe this one is the most energetic and fun, due to its simple chord structure, horn line at the end, and grooving bass lines throughout. It’s about becoming the artist you want to be and ultimately yourself.”

||| Stream: “Hell Yeah Everyday”

||| Also: Watch the video for “Without You”