Members of Earlimart, Aaron Espinoza, and Ariana Murray, former Grandaddy frontman Jason Lytle, and Aaron Burtch, former Grandaddy drummer, have created the shiny new indie rock project Admiral Radley, an anagram of the two band names. The group affirms on their website that the two bands have toured together, are friends and inevitably became close, so writing songs and making music together in a comfortable, collaborative atmosphere was an appealing idea to all parties.
In comes “I Heart California,” the supergroup’s first recorded effort to the world. Fans of Earlimart will hear tracks that sound like Earlimart, and the tracks in which Lytle takes lead on the vocals sound like pure Grandaddy gold. But the collaborative elements on songwriting, music composing and mixing all come through with an air of loose, relaxed and comfortable contentment. There were clearly no forced hands here – each song was written and made with love and intent.
The opener/title track is classic Lytle, filled with sarcasm-laced statements about the state he calls home. “I am California/ iced tea in my hair/ drugs fall out of diaper bags/ as Midwesterners stare” have Lytle taking hilarious liberties with songwriting, a keyboard loop repeats a la Grandaddy and the melodic chorus here with an Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonation begs for re-listening.
The first Espinoza-led track, “Ghosts of Syllables,” is lightheartedly electronic and sounds of childhood teaching toys while remaining serenely sweet and romantic. Light guitars strum while “ah ah ahs” echo in the background and piano and drums build. “Fading fast from the past/ and bend the colors and the photograph, photographs/ and when I dream I dream of you/ when I’m sinking it’s nothing new.” The layering of instrumentation and vocals here is glorious pure pop, archetypal of the best Earlimart.
One highlight of the album is “I’m All F***ed Up On Beer,” which highlights the lighthearted nature of the entire project and their intent while forming the group. The track gives listeners a glimpse of what they are in for – electro craziness, where all vocalists lend a hand, there are lots of “f-bombs” thrown and the result is silliness. The track ends in an explosion of laughter by the members, affirmation that this track, and Admiral Radley as a whole, is not meant to be taken seriously.
“I Heart California” is a wonderful listen all the way through and successfully combines the greatness of both bands into one entity. Anyone looking for an enjoyable listen from any of the aforementioned artists will be pleased to listen to Admiral Radley’s effort and take in what these musicians can all do when they combine their individual powers.
Admiral Radley plays the Crocodile Café in Seattle on July 19. For more information, to buy the album or hear some tracks, visit http://www.admiralradley.com.
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