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CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'
Musicians all over the country are making tunes informed by surf 'n sand
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With the rising popularity of bands like LA's Best Coast, and Beach House
being the standout band of 2010 with the most aspirational name, it
seems indie rock sensibilities have taken a left turn toward the
Pacific Coast. This new "wave" of beach-inspired bands continues to
swell, and even those as far-flung as the Shenandoah Valley and the
City of Brotherly Love are incorporating patently surf rock sounds.
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Wavves:
Leading the charge of this briny air-tinged movement is Nathan
Williams, the songwriter and principal musician behind the San
Diego-based band Wavves. After a rough year of onstage freakouts,
tour cancellations, and a rumored battle with alcohol, Williams' life
has taken a distinct reversal of fortune. His soon-to-be-released
album, King of the Beach
(Fat Possum), is pure Southern California, both in spirit and content,
with tunes sounding like a fuzzy but winning collaboration between
recently deceased garage rocker Jay Reatard and the vintage surf tunes of The Ventures.
(Reatard's former rhythm section is part of Wavves' touring band and
plays on the album.) With lyrics like "Let the sun burn my eyes, let it
burn my back," the August 3rd release packs a meta-punch of songs about
the beach that provide the perfect soundtrack as your sand chair sinks
into lapping shoreline breakers.
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Eternal Summers:
Hailing from Roanoke, Virginia's Magic Twig Community collective, Eternal Summers' name conjures images of sun flared Hipstamatic
moments. Created by guitarist and lead singer Nicole Yun and drummer
Daniel Cundiff, the duo's self-described brand of "dream punk" has,
until recently, consisted of a perfect blend of Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys and Britpop bands like Echobelly and Lush. Their forthcoming full-length album, Silver (Kanine Records),
which is slated for a late September release, is slightly heavier, with
less jangle and haze than their more mirthful self-titled debut EP. Of
course, that's not to say that it won't make its way into beach
boomboxes, er, iPod docks, come next summer. With remarkable cuts like
the opening track, "Disciplinarian," as well as the title song, Silver exhibits a mature sound that poises it for year-round play.
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Reading Rainbow:
The sound of Philly-based duo Reading Rainbow floats somewhere between
'60s-style, surf-vibe harmonies and agitated, passive-aggressive punk.
The former influences tend to overshadow the latter, however, thus
keeping the music playful despite subtly flaunting traces of
contentious urgency. After releasing their debut full-length album, Mystical Participation,
and subsequently hitting the road in support of it, the guy-girl duo
(self-taught drummer Sarah and guitarist Rob trade vocal duties) has
firmly established itself within the new pantheon of stripped-down
musicians pushing a resolutely lo-fi movement. (Think Matt and Kim stuck in a garage with only a 4-track.) Their forthcoming second album, Prism Eyes,
promises to keep things as Malibu-sunset-colorful as ever, even if the
band's view of the Pacific is from over a cheesesteak, more than 3,000
miles away.
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