Camper Van Beethoven-La costa Perdida
by: Sal Christ
Photo Credit: Jason Thrasher
There’s something about Camper Van Beethoven that simply doesn’t exist in too many rock bands now—like the lustrous experience of ripened ochre or a vintage bottle of scotch that shimmers at just the right point. Maybe it’s the fact that the music isn’t a throwback to any particular time, and doesn’t work too hard for a specific “branding image” or niche audience, or maybe it’s just that synthesizers and Auto-Tune haven’t tampered with the compositions on their newest release.
A solid and delightful collection of tunes, La Costa Perdida breathes in steady refrains of classic and folk rock with the energy of punk on certain tracks. “Peaches in the Summertime,” in particular, hops up and down with a grin on its face before lazy thrums of fiddle interrupt momentarily. “Northern California Girls,” rises flush and carefree as a beach barbeque welcome for east coast traitors returning “from Brooklyn.” A little more rural, the title track saunters around in its southwestern grace and lyrics sprinkled with handfuls of Spanish spoken a little too perfectly as the singer proclaims, “I’m a half a guero, caballero Yankee from a town just south of Brawley.”
Although January isn’t summertime—at least not in the U.S.—Camper Van Beethoven brings California relaxation, and goldenrod-meets-titian sunsets, whose warmth still sends waves into the air to its listeners—a timely thought and sensation in the nine years since the band’s last release. Although not as husky as other records, La Costa Perdida does what a good record is supposed to do: transport the listener away from their present surroundings for an hour or so.
Category: A-Sides
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