'Blue Summer' Review: Cayucas cool down the summer heat with a shower of vibrant and melodic rock tunes
Indie-pop outfit Cayucas is set to release a new album titled 'Blue Summer' on September 25. Initially known as Oregon Bike Trails, the band was signed to Secretly Canadian in 2012 when they changed to their current band moniker. 'Blue Summer' is their fourth studio album overall, and the second album under their new label Park the Van. It follows after their LP 'Real Life', which released in April 2019.
Speaking of their transition to Park the Van at the time, twin brothers Zach and Ben Yudin shared their positive take on the move. "Maybe we’re optimistic, but it felt good to get a fresh start," Zach said. "We were able to view things in a positive light. We were lucky, in a sense; we were starting from scratch and had nothing to lose. And when you’re coming from a place like that, that’s when things can creatively become much more interesting."
A graciously infectious musical duo, Cayucas is known for its sunny, melodic surf rock and buoyant, rhythmic jams, and 'Blue Summer' further cements that. The band's new record sees the brothers "heading back to the beach—in other words, to the sunny, vibrant, melodic rock from which they first paddled out," as their official Bandcamp website reads.
If you're looking for an album coming from the harder spectrum of rock and roll with heavily distorted guitars and power beats, or club-ready summer tracks, then 'Blue Summer' may not be for you. But this is the realm that the band has found their niche in. Rather than having audiences lose their minds to over-charged music, Cayucas want you savoring the sound of each instrument in melded artistry that is both relaxing and thrilling. If it is any further indication, the "Blue" in 'Blue Summer' also signals a cooler effect instead of a firey summer tune.
With this year's summer drawing to an end and fall on the way, a lot of the album feels like a fresh shower after a grand session of surfing. That doesn't mean to say the album is short of up-tempo energy, but there is a satisfying sense of unwinding or cooling off, possibly due to the carefree vocal style of Zach.
The opener 'Yeah Yeah Yeah' kicks off the album with a laidback bassline plucked over two notes and simplistic drumming. The song is then sweetened by rich guitar licks, instrumental layers, and backing vocals as it swells. The result is like pouring milk into strong coffee and craving as you watch the flavors swirl together, giving out the perfect aroma as an album-starter.
As 'Malibu '79 Long' slides in, the album begins to pick up the pace. Adding your classic Beach Boys clap to the beat, the song is coated with a wavy tremolo effect to the complete sound. "Being obsessed with all things Beach Boys, I built this song with Pet Sounds & Smile in mind," Zach explains, according to American Songwriter. "Tempo changes, key changes, instrumentation. I had the piano chords lodged in the back of my head for literally 7-8 years, I would play those chords whenever I sat at a piano but never turned it into a song."
Move on to songs like 'From The Rafters' and the band hasn't left audiences without fun and hype. The track gets a doubled-up pace than many of its counterparts, the guitar work is immaculate and the churnout of peppy riffs feels the band's playground. Then you have the swift breeze that is 'Champion Of The Beach' which offers a certain psychedelic mindlessness.
'Blue Summer' is getting the luxury treatment of 180-gram vinyl, pressed on classic black vinyl for the purists. If you digitally pre-order the record, you will get four tracks now and the complete album the moment it’s released. Click here for more info.