Forever

Painted Palms make music that's irrepressibly summery and smile-inducing. It might take a back shelf to Leonard Cohen or Bon Iver in the winter, but it shouldn’t; on a dreary, gray Monday morning, it may be just the thing to get you and your beater car on the road, or exactly the soundtrack you need on the subway where everyone's sweating in their wool coats and sneezing in your general direction. Cranking the effervescent “Too High” or the kaleidoscopic “Here It Comes”—tunes shimmering with jingling bells and plenty of twinkly synths—in one’s earbuds is guaranteed to ward off evil winter spirits. Painted Palms are based in San Francisco, the brainchild of two cousins who first started making music “together” long distance a few years before Forever. In addition to an affection for artists like Panda Bear and Atlas Sound, the guys have a few Beatles songs in their playlists; “Spinning Signs” points to more than a little Lennon-McCartney magic in their diet. Forever is undeniably a lovely creation. Seeing what this duo can make of all these sturdy influences could be even more rewarding.