Beulah
The Coast Is Never Clear

THE REVIEW

Does anyone remember Elephant Six? In the nineties, this Athens collective, modeled after the hippie communes present all over during the "Summer Of Love," produced a remarkable number of interesting and often undeservedly forgotten indie bands like Jeff Magnum's Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control, Of Montreal, and, getting to the point, Beulah.

Led by Miles Kurosky, they recorded four remarkable albums, recently reissued, among which stands out the final "The Coast Is Never Clear," from 2003. An album in which the low-fidelity psychedelia typical of Elephant Six bands ("Hello Resolven", "Gravity's Bringing Us Down", featuring guitars worthy of the best Sonic Youth at the end), a retro taste for Beach Boys' pop from the "Pet Sounds" period ("Popular Mechanics For Lovers"), and assorted oddities (Pavement with a brass section in "Silver Lining") coexist perfectly. The songwriting is mature, the arrangements extremely well crafted.

The writer, needless to say, loves this work. Don't feel disoriented by their inclusion in the soundtrack (the definitive liberation of the term "indie rock") of the famous teen series "The O.C.": we're talking about a band with original quirks that is absolutely enjoyable while maintaining a certain appeal as a US college band for the few.