California Wives are a four piece from Chicago offering hope filled and shoe-gazey indie pop that we’re actually quite enjoying.
Title track ‘Tokyo’, nodding to its namesake, taps into an undeniable Eastern feel. It’s light, clean and feathery. Simple vocals provide an 80s synth pop sound that isn’t burdened with a heavy emotional weight. Likewise ‘Photolights’ maintains that same oriental style but is far grungier having been beefed out with some lo-fi reverb guitars.
Elsewhere ‘Blood Red Youth’, despite suggesting a testosterone and adrenaline induced rush, is instead decidedly placid with a nice symmetry to the chorus and verse. The result is a hazy summer glow as opposed to a sweat covered solstice.
The defining feature of this band is their earnest sound and old fashioned charm and we can’t get enough. With the obligatory South By Southwest performance under their belts ‘California Wives‘ are certainly making a name for themselves.
You’ll be hard push to catch them in concert on British shores just yet but you can happily purchase their LP ‘Affair‘ which is out now.
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Post by the rambunctious Ruby
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