[indie-pop, psychedelic rock] (2018) Sugar Candy Mountain - Do Right [FLAC,Tracks] {100.XY}

(2018) Sugar Candy Mountain - Do Right

Review:
Integrating lush chamber-psych arrangements with a cornucopia of breezy vintage pop inspirations, Oakland’s maintain their sunny West Coast feel on Do Right, their follow-up to 2016’s provocatively titled but otherwise amiable 666.
Working once again with Papercuts’ Jason Quever as producer, co-frontpeople Ash Reiter and Will Halsey turn their thematic gaze toward a more turbulent and divided world, offering paeans to anxious times in the guise of Pacific-toned, distinctively Californian pop. In the face of political and social unrest, Do Right seems to steer toward meditative affirmations and the wholesome appeal of the natural world. Assimilating the musical flavor and titular concept of the Beach Boys’ ”Let’s Go Away for Awhile,” songs like “Quiet Place” and “Do You Know the Place?” touch on themes of both physical and mental escapism, keeping the darkness (mostly) at bay with woozy orchestrated pop arrangements and hushed vocal melodies.
A greater emphasis on both synthesizers and more synthetic-sounding textures gives the album a more contemporary feel than earlier Sugar Candy Mountain releases, further adding to the moody undertones roiling beneath calm waters. Standout cut “Happening” pairs an appealingly clever melodic structure with a sort of grim urgency, its chorus intoning “We haven’t much time/So do what you like/The world isn’t waiting.” Having spent a number of years resting their sound within the tranquility of tropicalia and bright ’60s West Coast pop, it’s nice to hear Halsey and Reiter shouldering the responsibility of weightier substance on this strong outing.

Tracklist:
01. Split In Two.flac
02. Crystalline.flac
03. This Time Around.flac
04. Happening.flac
05. Quiet Place.flac
06. Mar-a-Lago.flac
07. Tidal Wave.flac
08. Losing Myself.flac
09. Stickeen.flac
10. Do You Know the Place.flac

Summary:
Country: USA
Genre: indie-pop, psychedelic rock


Media Report:
Source : CD
Format : FLAC
Format/Info : Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : ~ 1400-1600 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 44.1 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits