REVIEW – Old Californio: Sundrunk Angels
The first thing I remember thinking as I listened to Old Californio’s Sundrunk Angels was that if only the Grateful Dead sounded like these guys, I would be more of a Deadhead.
Old Californio takes the best of California, borrowing heavily from the Dead, and a bit from Eagles and The Byrds, to create an uncommon yet familiar sound that is undoubtedly rooted in their home state, undeniably reminiscent of the psychedelic era, and unequivocally refreshing to my musical palate.
All that added up to a record I really enjoyed the very first time through.
The opening song, “Learn To Cheat”, with its McGuinn guitars and Garcia vocals, accompanied unobtrusively by a tasty mandolin and a tasteful rhythm section — man, this song had me grinning all the way through it. The harmonica on “Dark Fire” is worth the price of admission, and the guitar solos on “Jewels And The Dross” and “A Cool Place In The Light” are raw and refined at the same time. The second-to-last song, “Unsatisfied”, is a beautiful acoustic ballad, that leads into the perfect closer, “Come Tomorrow”, a soft-rocker, with a “bah-bah-bow-bah-bah-bah-dah-dah-dah-dow” chorus. Nice!
I have to admit that nothing really stood out to me lyrically on the album, but I will caveat that: every time I tried to focus on lyrics, I was transported somewhere else by the music. The sound is just that cool and interesting that I didn’t really care about the lyrics. Those voices combined with those instruments. Simply wow. I promise, however, I will find a lyric sheet and peruse it, then update this review ;=)
I will give this record the highest compliment I can give an album: It makes me want to see the band live. Hell, it sounds live, and I can only imagine the kind of jams Old Californio could unleash in a place like Sam’s Burger Joint in San Antonio (hint, hint).
I haven’t heard Old Californio’s other records, so I don’t know where Sundrunk Angels stands in their oeuvre quality-wise, but I can guarantee you that I’ll be owning those older records very soon, because this one is just that good.
RATING: 5 bullets
