Beulah
The Coast Is Never Clear

THE REVIEW

Just one word is enough to describe this album: delicious.

However, it's difficult to categorize the music, which is fundamentally high-quality indie-pop, yet mixes a multitude of elements thanks to imaginative and rich arrangements. You can truly lose yourself following the melodic lines that intertwine, explode, hide, take a tour, and then reappear when you least expect it. At times, it might even seem like you're listening to a lounge album: see for example the wonderful "What Will You Do When Your Suntan Fades?". It has a fabulous opening and development, with a piano supporting a very delicate rhythmic carpet, leading to an end in a Bacharach style. Imagine Bacharach playing tex-mex to get a sense of the album, only that after a while he picks up the electric guitar and ruffles it all up. I hope you get the idea.

The tracks are all nothing less than good, but don't miss out on "Silver Lining" (starts with a Pixies-like riff and then jumps into uptempo rock, with brass pulling the chorus and bridge) or "Gravity's Bringing Us Down" (psychedelic and intense, but with an unexpected sudden opening). Indispensable is "Burned By The Sun", where you'll hear the typical West Coast atmospheres... Situated within the group's production (their other albums are also very nice), I'd say it's the classic album of maturity, in which the style is clearly defined. I highly recommend it to those who appreciated "Nice And Nicely Done" by "The Spinto Band".