When the inevitable summertime rain falls on our island, and we cast eyes upward to curse our luck and imagine how summer should be, we likely visualise something akin to the sun-kissed Californian ideal presented by Santa Monica’s Cayucas. Signed to Secretly Canadian, and named for a small town along California’s coastal highway, Zach Yudin’s latest project is melodic indie pop, the band’s debut a nifty burst of summer designed to continue the legacy of the region’s fertile music scene.
Bigfoot’s 31 breezy minutes comprise eight variations on a theme: crashing waves and summer reminiscences are fondly described via a riff-centred melange of reverbed vocals and surf harmonies, served with a pop-friendly sheen and effortlessly evoking a sense of time and place. For Irish listeners, the dose of escapism is not dissimilar to that offered by the Thrills a decade ago.
The notion that effective pop is generally polished and uncomplicated is not lost on Yudin or his colleagues. Thematically insubstantial it may be, but Bigfoot, enhanced by Richard Swift’s distinctive production, is brimming with charm. While there are no duds among the selection of digestible pop nuggets, Bigfoot lacks a killer track to render it less of a throwaway, and it is hard not to wish the five-piece had cut loose more often. The closest approaching a standout is the bass-driven and supremely catchy ‘High School Lover’, its emphasis on the youth of summers past a recurring theme (see also the naively nostalgic and irrepressibly chirpy ‘A Summer Thing’, booming Spectoresque percussion encapsulating the group’s delightful classic pop ethic).
The biggest indictment of Cayucas is that these high points are very much in thrall to Vampire Weekend circa 2008, an observation especially apparent on energetic geography lesson ‘Cayucos’ and via the chanting and handclaps of single ‘East Coast Girl’. An unhurried pace dictates most of Bigfoot’s tracks, though. The languorous ‘Will “the Thrill”’ defines a leisurely pattern featured throughout, a restorative sea breeze under a hazy sunset. Meanwhile, as his tunes bear the unmistakable mark of Ezra Koenig’s band, Yudin’s offhand vocal style recalls that of renowned Generation X slacker, Beck.
Bigfoot is not a venture in to the surf-pop territory of Best Coast; rather it seeks to be a musical homage to original purveyors of surf culture, the Beach Boys as prime reference point. Indeed, Cayucos (the place) was chosen to represent a back-to-basics Golden State, pre-commercial pizzazz. Cayucas are not unduly concerned by the lack of depth to their music. For now, once on board with their aesthetic, it’s tough to be cynical about this infectious summer record. One for fostering a rare summer vibe at any domestic barbecues or beach gatherings.
Review by Killian Barry
