Pacific Surf Line

Featuring veterans of Beachwood Sparks, the Tyde, Everest, and the Watson Twins, GospelbeacH sound so Californian you practically expect their record to come with an earthquake preparedness kit. The band's debut album, Pacific Surf Line, is a light but potent exercise in Golden State rock that blends elements of soft rock, vintage pop, country rock, and psychedelia into music that manages to sound expert and casual at once. The performances are tight and capture the tone of California rock of the early to mid-'70s with an accuracy that's all the more impressive since it never sounds forced, as if these songs just somehow happened rather than being crafted after long hours in the studio. Guitarists Brent Rademaker, Neal Casal, and Jason Soda know how to keep this music breezy while adding some impressive soloing and bottleneck work to the mix, and drummer Tom Sanford and bassist Kip Boardman are the right rhythm section for this band, keeping the bottom end on track without unnecessary fuss or showboating. The harmonies aren't quite up to the level of the Byrds, but they're at least as good as 90-percent of the Marin County country rockers of the era, and the tunes give them plenty to work with, from the country-seasoned shuffle of "California Steamer" and the cheerful drift of "Come Down" to the polished but insistent psych-rock of "Out of My Mind" and the sweet and easy but slightly ominous undercurrents of "Your Freedom." While there's plenty of good stuff on Pacific Surf Line, the album is hampered a bit by the production, which is clean but sounds more like a demo than a finished product at times. But that's not to say this doesn't capture GospelbeacH's virtues very well. Hopefully next time the band will get a chance to show off their many facets with a bit more attention paid in the studio, but Pacific Surf Line leaves no doubt that GospelbeacH have the chops and the ideas to make their California dreaming into something worth your time.