‘SANTA FE‘
‘SlOW GRIND‘ (Released 29th April) – PNKSLM
The members behind Widnes & Wirral trio Beach Skulls – Ry Vieira, Jordan Finney and Dan West – come from quite different climbs to the simmering heat of Santa Fe, the title of the initial single from their upcoming first LP ‘Slow Grind‘. As habitually different as the New Mexico city is from their Mersey home, the three-piece do perfectly well to imagine the effect of the warmth with their sultry, lethargic Garage-Pop.
‘Santa Fe‘s immediate mood is one of bucolic nostalgia – hedonistic nights with friends roll through a fragile mind as surf rhythms scuttle along pleasantly without too much care for time. Each ringing guitar line and stoned vocal delivery is enunciated for hazy effect, the group’s intelligent songwriting bleeding through as it creates a surprisingly unsettled atmosphere of isolated insecurity and an anxious reliance on a place of escape.
“It’s sad for me, but it’s on you /I started thinking that you don’t know what to do” Vieira croons with strung-out abandon, coming to conclusions as the sun rises over the coast – “Nowhere’s made up to call for you / no matter what you do“. The deep sense of realisation after a heavy night of indulgence is wrung out by the clarity of the production, a hue of delicate reverberation and fitting delay.
‘Santa Fe‘ displays a Garage-Pop group with a melancholic, dark quality – immediately cementing Beach Skulls as having an intriguing element to their upbeat convictions.