San Francisco – There’s always been a hint of sadness evident in the California Dream, whether it was expressed by Warren Zevon coming down from a bad hangover in a seedy Hollywood motel or Sly Stone up in the Bay Area lamenting the sorry state of race relations in America. Cayucas, with roots in the northern California college town of Davis and currently making their home in Los Angeles, seems to embody this mix of melancholia and sunshine, the strained dichotomy between movie star dreams and unremarkable reality. The songs on their sophomore effort Dancing at the Blue Lagoon are full of engaging melodies, enticing rhythmic arrangements and euphonic harmonies that are somewhat belied by lead singer Zach Yudin’s wearied, almost detached, vocal delivery and lyrics alternating between wry observation and aching meditation.
“Oh suburbia, you left us peering out over fences,” he muses on the driving ballad “Ditches” amidst a lush backdrop of strings and piano. The bittersweet nostalgia conjures up images of “empty lots full of parking spots” where memories “won’t flicker out / they’re lurking in the dark at the end of the day.” There is a palpable sense of loss somewhere to be found amongst the swimming pools and little league games, the suburbs containing an inexplicable angst suppressed by comfort and cleanliness. Not even Yudin seems to be able to pinpoint the source of the emotional void, but he can at least plead, “I don’t wanna end up like this.”
As strong as the vocal melodies are, the rhythm section really steals the show. The scorching Afro-pop of “Moony Eyed Walrus,” with it’s pulsing bass drum and punchy toms, particularly stands out, along with the charging, NorCal-representing “Hella,” a tune that is sure to become a staple of the band’s live set. The Latin-inflected bass groove of the title track is intoxicating, and that song especially contains shades of Zevon with its depiction of sleazy barflies and perpetual losers, the main subject either a stripper or just a lonely woman in a lonely club, dancing to the bright, plucking guitar line and impossibly catchy beat.
Dancing at the Blue Lagoon feels like a huge step up from their 2013 debut Bigfoot. Not only have the production values been vastly improved, but the songs themselves seem more realized, more confident, as if they have finally found their distinct sound. Even if they do occasionally remind the listener of Vampire Weekend like with the symphonic feel of opener “Big Winter Jacket,” the band is definitely carving out their own place in the indie rock scene. To sum it all up in northern California terms, this album is hella good.
Dancing at the Blue Lagoon is out now via Secretly Canadian. Summer tour dates for Cayucas can be found here.
Nick Schneider
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