California X – ‘Nights In The Dark’ Album Review

California X – Amherst, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

I got into the sounds of California X‘s slacker-Swamp Rock in early 2013 when they released their self-titled debut on Don Giovanni Records, which is also home to another personal favourite, Screaming Females. Overall, the release had some killer catchy singles, but was heavily bogged down by the quality of the production.

If you fancy dipping your toes in before you read on, click Here and Here to listen to highlights from that album, ‘Pond Rot’ and ‘Spider X’.

Nights In The Dark, however, clears up any issues with production.

Every part of this album leaps into your ears with little-to-no hassle or struggle, although, my greatest issue with this album is that it doesn’t exactly have the same “catchy” qualities that the band’s debut had. The songwriting hasn’t exactly been shot dead in the water; the opening tracks to this album are quality, and are just as strong as ‘Pond Rot’ and ‘Spider X’.

The step up in production quality gives songs like ‘Hadley, MA’ a little more depth than it would have had if it was released on the self-titled, and the two-part ‘Blackrazor’, definitely shows ambition, but I like it more simply because it’s pretty cool.

The second half of the album is also, as a whole, ‘pretty cool’; like staring at a sunset whilst enjoying a beer, ‘pretty cool’.

It shuns any tag of being “commercial” by separating two two-part songs with a short instrumental called ‘Garlic Road’. But much like the earlier instrumental, ‘Ayla’s Song’, it is just some pretty guitar noodling, and I believe both are on the album simply to assist in breaking up the releases contrasting sides.

And their track listing is interesting to me. Where ‘Ayla’s Song’ sits within the undoubtedly two best songs on the album in ‘Red Planet’ and ‘Hadley, MA’, ‘Garlic Road’ is seemingly used only to break apart the two-part “epics”… and I use ‘epic’ to describe length, not necessarily quality.

As I continue to listen to Nights In the Dark, I have to admit, it is a funny album.

It’s funny in a peculiar sense – referring mainly to the instrumentals and the general structure – but it’s also funny in the “fun” sense. This album is really fun. ‘Blackrazor (pt. 2)’ is upbeat and exciting, and really kicks alive the second half of the album, to the point where I forget about all the niggles and inconsistencies.

The final two tracks, ‘Summer Wall (pt. 1)/(pt. 2)‘, shows California X drowning at the bottom of some Floridian Everglades swamp, despite being from Massachusetts.

Yet, when the band tackle this sound – where they actively search for atmosphere – they sound like they are still trying to find who they are. And they are definitely somewhere. California X can create any mood within an introduction, and then go on to rock with it. But when I hear ‘Blackrazor (pt. 2)’ and ‘Summer Wall (pt.2)‘, I love them in their entirety – rather than specific parts – which is how I feel with some of the other tracks.

Maybe that’s the entire “pay off” of this album. They’re rewarding me for taking some time out and trying to figure this all out.

…But probably not. The case is probably that I’m enjoying these songs more because they’re just better songs. In fact, ‘Summer Wall (pt. 2)’ has some really cool Alt-90’s vibes going on and I can almost hear some weird Dream-Pop kicking around in somewhere – maybe in the vocals.

California X’s debut got a lot of Dinosaur Jr comparisons, but Nights In The Dark sees the band trying to go forward and be knights in the dark. You wouldn’t expect much from them, and nor should you, they’re not a religion. But expect some good head rocking, beer chugging, and fun. The “your-best-friend-just-saved-your-life-by-pushing-you-into-the-road-then-pulling-you-out-of-it” kinda fun.

So go on. Go get on a motorcycle and ride to the moon and back, this is the perfect soundtrack to listen to this on the way there.

And when you’re back on Earth, find the band via the following:

• Facebook – Here and Twitter – Here for information.
• Their music can be streamed via their bandcamp profile – Here.
• Fancy a copy? Head to Don Giovanni Records by clicking Here. The band’s music is also Available on Amazon (UK & US), as well as on iTunes.

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