ADMIRAL RADLEY – I Heart California
After touring with each other for years, Earlimart and Grandaddy decided to link up after long tinkering with the idea of collaborating musically. Finally, Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray of Earlimart and Jason Lytle and Aaron Burtch of Grandaddy joined together. After considering the names Earlidaddy and Grandimart, they settled on Admiral Radley, an anagram of the two bands. Story goes that the name was the suggestion of one Admiral Radley, a mysterious figure who scooted up next to the bands in a cafe while they were considering this collaboration. They shared wine with him, talked with him about their ideas for music, and then just as early as the Admiral had arrived, he suddenly departed. Now, as the newly-formed band Admiral Radley travels around in support of their forthcoming album I Heart California, they are constantly on the lookout for the mysterious Admiral wherever they go.
Despite the subtle variation of sounds in the songs, in one way or another they all have the feeling of the beach. The album’s self-titled opener starts off as a bouncy, piano-driven little ditty, but soon turns somewhat noisy and dreamlike with the distant voice of an airport PA in the background repeating the lines of the chorus. Very catchy and with ease it tells the listener what to expect sonically from the album and the album’s underlying sentiment. Other songs seem like the music for the end credits in a modern surf movie (“Lonesome Co.”), a sweet little love song at a beach side tiki bar (“The Thread”), and a shoegaze show on the beach with a small symphony playing along (“G N D N”).
The album is filled with swishing and swirling noise (albeit effervescent noise) and a general feeling of the bittersweet. Sad at points, but definitely beautiful and worth the listen, if not multiple listenings. My only cringing was the four-and-a-half minutes of the throbbing techno-punk of “I’m All Fucked On Beer.”It’s how I imagine an Atari Teenage Riot remix of a Admiral Radley song would turn out. While it seems like they may have had fun making it, I definitely didn’t like listening to it and it seems completely out of place with the rest of the songs on the album. That aside, I hope this album isn’t just a one-off. If and when they do find him, I think the Admiral would be pleased with the results of the album by the band of his namesake.
(The Ship, no address provided)
