Summer, more than any other season, calls for commitment-free, easy listening habits. Despite San Francisco’s foggy views, the sun shines brightly on the bouncy hooks and reverb-laden bedroom stylings of jangle pop.
Gone are the days when college rock heroes such as the Feelies or Aztec Camera were dismissed as trite or underwhelming. Perhaps inspired by the exploding popularity of bands such as Best Coast or the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, the Bay Area is experience a renaissance of spindly, lo-fi tunes where happy-go-lucky sounds shroud heartbreaking lyrical themes. Here is a look at three local bands of the jangle pop variety:
Sourpatch – Sourpatch, hailing from the South Bay, are a four-piece girl/boy delight. Impossible romances combine with danceable dirge. Recalling C86 tape memories, Sourpatch’s infectious noisy bop proves that twee ain’t all that saccharine.
Dreamdate – Swinging guitars and warming vocals contribute to Dreamdate’s unstoppable charm. The three members can certainly get noisy and use piercing riffs to punctuate a comfortably hazy sound. Catch them next at Amnesia on July 21!
The Splinters – Squirming and snarky garage pop from four boisterous Oakland-transplants ignite sincerity into something catchy, but not necessarily cutesy.
–Julianne Wagner
DreamDate – Melody Walks (live) from cleanwhitelines on Vimeo.
