By Rob Duguay

Chicago singer-songwriter and pianist Neal Francis has been riding a smooth retro groove since the late 2010s, thanks to his stellar fusion of funk, soul, R&B, and psychedelic rock — nostalgic musical dives into an era when the chic sported bell bottoms and afros. He continues this creative approach with his third studio album, Return To Zero, on ATO Records. As part of his tour supporting the release, Francis and his band will be performing at The Sinclair in Cambridge on March 26. The show starts at 8:30 p.m. with Atlanta psychedelic pop act Improvement Movement kicking things off.

Francis and I talked about making his new record, his latest music video for one of the singles, and his unique connection to the Boston area.

The Arts Fuse: What was the experience like recording Return To Zero? Did you aim to do anything differently this time around?

Neal Francis: It’s always different. The circumstances are dictated by the amount of time I had, the different musicians I invited to collaborate on the co-writing of this record, as well as a bunch of other featured musicians who played on it. I was also learning throughout the process how I want to record and how I don’t want to record going forward, so we’ll see about that.

AF: Your most recent music video is for the song “Broken Glass.” It features a playfully carnal theme that explores submissive and dominant relationships in the bedroom. It shows you being tormented by a temptress before an explosive finale. How was it filming this video, and did you contribute any ideas for the vision, or did you let a director handle that?

Francis: The concept basically came from the lyrics, which explore that subject matter. The temptress is actually my fiancée. The director, Alec Basse, looked at the lyrics and adapted them to horror movie tropes. Also, we just wanted to blow up a piano, so we spent some time figuring out a way to do that while still tying the blast to the theme of the song.

AF: Where did you end up finding a piano?

Francis: The piano was actually my childhood piano. It was in my house when I was growing up. We had already destroyed it for a different video. It had been sitting in a storage unit collecting dust — for years we had wanted to blow it up, so we finally got our opportunity.

AF: Your aesthetic is very inspired by the ‘70s. That era informs the bright colors on your record covers and the visuals in your music videos, as well as how your music sounds and the way you dress. Do you make it a habit to go to different vintage shops to buy new clothes, either when you’re on the road or back home in Chicago?

Francis: My clothes are the vision of my stylist, Rachel Epperson. She’s the one who makes many of my clothes and sources a lot of them, with my aesthetic in mind.

Neal Francis. Photo: Jack Karnatz 

AF: How did you initially connect with Rachel? Is she a longtime friend of yours?

Francis: She’s been around the whole time. I met her through my manager, Brendan O’Connell, who had a band of his own that she did some work with. Even before the creation of my first record, she was making stuff for me. She’s been a believer and a supporter the whole time.

AF: I know it’s always a goal for a musician or a band to capture the excitement of their live sound on a recording. The tricky part is bringing music recorded in a studio to vibrant life in a concert setting. How’s it been going with the shows featuring the tunes on Return To Zero?

Francis: We don’t really try to reproduce the recordings on stage. We are four musicians looking for compelling ways to present the songs live. There are some rare exceptions, but the show is essentially just myself, my guitarist, bass player, and drummer. So I’d say that we take a very rock and roll approach — it’s been coming together nicely. The other night was our first show of this tour, and it felt great.

AF: There’s a show coming up at The Sinclair. What are your thoughts on coming back to the Boston area?

Francis: My bass player went to college there. I feel like we’re still building our cred in Boston. I went to the city a lot while growing up because my grandpa’s ship from World War II is docked in the Charlestown Navy Yard next to the USS Constitution. He used to always take us there on tours, and he was really proud of it, so I have that connection to Boston.

Rob Duguay is an arts & entertainment journalist based in Providence, who is originally from Shelton, CT. Outside of the Arts Fuse, he has also written for DigBoston, Aquarian Weekly, Providence Journal, Newport Daily News, Worcester Magazine, New Noise Magazine, Manchester Ink Link, and numerous other publications. While covering mostly music, he has also written about film, TV, comedy, theater, visual art, food, drink, sports, and cannabis.