The Sunchymes "Shifting Sands"

Leave it to an Englishman like Aaron Hemmington to craft an album full of Californian sunshine pop. Fans of Jellyfish/Wondermints will be drawn to the sunshine fuelled harmonies and intricate harpsichord arrangements. I wanted to give Hemmington props for just getting the sound and spirit of The Beach Boys and Curt Boettcher late sixties era right. The opening track “Greenacre Lanes” gets it rolling with a candy colored melody and catchy chorus. In fact he’s gotten positive feedback from both Jeff Foskett and Nelson Bragg of Brian Wilson’s band for his musical skills. “Free Rider” has a great jangling guitar sound that recalls Gary Zekley’s pop band The Yellow Balloon. And the psychedelic pop on the tunes “Feeling Just Fine” and “Your Smile” are wonderful harmonic diversions. The songs are at once light-and-airy in their atmosphere, and masterfully complex in their construction. There will be plenty of “spot the riff” moments, where it sounds like whole parts of Pet Sounds have been re-used (“Down At Pallisades”). Unfortunately much of the songwriting suffers from a lack of variety, as many songs start with similar piano progressions and rhythms. Unless you’re a huge Brian Wilson fanatic, it wears thin by the albums end. If you can get past that fact, you are in for a real treat. I sincerely hope there is a follow up album, as enjoyable sunshine pop is a rare find nowadays.

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