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Greater California
April 20, 2009 - Hailing from Long Beach, Calif. the aptly named five-piece, Greater California, makes music that is delightfully nostalgic, hopeful, and a bit retro. The instrumentation is bright but woozy with subtle traces of psychedelia, and the vocals are equally distant and dreamy and often refer to things in the past. The song "It's Great," in particular, sounds like it was meant to accompany some epic cinematic moment with a sullen protagonist who silently comes to a significant realization.
In "The Foolish Son," Terry Prine sings, "Let the past be a place made for stopping," which effectively sums up much of the sentiments inherent in the music of this So Cal group. With it's pleasant but languid melodies and fun group harmonies, All The Colors is the perfect soundtrack to accompany the lazy, youthful months of summer. Though it is certainly dreamy music, instruments like the vibraphone, marimba, trumpet, Hammond organ, and Wurlitzer electric piano nicely cut through the ennui and demand for more than just a passive listening experience. All The Colors, the group's third album, was produced by Ikey Owens who has worked with Mars Volta and Crystal Antlers.
Download this song in the Second Stage podcast.
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