Later Days

With Mother Hips founding drummer Mike Wofchuck replaced by John Hofer, Later Days is noticeably tighter and more dynamic. “Gold Plated” finds Mother Hips veering away from their collegiate jam-rock roots and infusing classic California country-rock with their own Chico State–brewed sound. During this time, Mother Hips maintained twangy guitars, Beach Boys—inspired harmonies, and a self-imposed mandatory moustache rule that required all four members to indulge in upper-lip “manscaping” during the recording and touring of Later Days. The uncanny vocal relationship between frontmen/guitarists Tim Bluhm and Greg Loiacono is best exemplified in the folk-rocking title track, where they shift from octave parts in the verses to closer high-lonesome harmonies in the choruses. Conversely, “Esmerelda” returns The Mother Hips to the hard-grooving boogie-rock found in their prior album, Shootout, before “Motorhome” and “Tired Wings” bestow some of Bluhm’s best West Coast–flavored surfer serenades. The honky-tonkin’ “Do It on the Strings” captures a time in the late '90s when the Golden State abounded with twang-rock bands.