It’s hard not to listen to Buried Beds’ sophomore album, Tremble the Sails, without wondering how a duo-to-quintet from West Philadelphia could craft such an exuberant ‘60s AM pop record. Offered as a donation-only digital download and for-sale physical release, the folk-pop outfit’s follow-up to 2006’s Empty Rooms is an unswerving love affair with sun-lit harmonies and pastoral melodies – from the swelling opener “Steady Hands” to the playful piano-heavy “Breadcrumb Trails” and all the satiated musical passages in between (i.e. “Your Modern Age”). But what’s best about Tremble the Sails is the lack of continuity in its consistency. Mixed by The Spinto Band’s Nick Krill, the overall delicate charm of Buried Beds’ latest effort is affably rattled by expressive upsurges of satiated symphonies, like on the melancholy Beatles-esque “Mother”, and bittersweet “Grandma’s Bow”. And if only one thing can be said about Tremble the Sails, it’s that it represents the better parts of this city – where underneath streets dusted with tension and grit, there’s a hidden beacon of hopefulness. – Annamarya Scaccia