I came across a few tracks from Quiet Life (Myspace) a while back. I really enjoyed them and looked forward to hearing more sometime. Well, that time has come with the release of their newest EP, California Vacation.

As with the last batch of songs I listened to, the tracks here are a fun and loose collection that shows signs of California canyon-country, folk and a dash or two of Whiskeytown thrown in the concoction. “Downtown” is a raw, swinging and barn-burning hoedown, while “Games People Play” successfully shimmies in the Golden State sunshine. Call me crazy, but I think that the “Laurel Canyon Vibe” has become perhaps my favorite musical theme, when done effectively. The warmth of such a retro-fitted sound has served many great albums well as of late.  A reworked “Cave Country” subtracts the jangly acoustic folk-rock in favor of a stripped down and more sparsely arranged version that meshes with the overall sonic theme. The vocals possess a vulnerable echo and are properly lo-fi and also suit the EP well as a whole.  

LISTEN: Quiet Life – “Downtown”

LISTEN: Quiet Life – “Games People Play”

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Looks like they are missing their TV too...

This past Monday night, not one, but two Monday Night Football games were on, the Men’s Final of the US Open had just ended and the re-run of the House M.D. season finale that I didn’t see the first time had just started. I didn’t get to see any of these tube treasures, thanks to a storm knocking our satellite out of commission for the entire evening (and on into Tuesday evening as it turned-out).

What better way to pass the time than to pass the time than to listen to some new music? I have been enjoying a few tracks from Quiet Life’s upcoming album, Big Green (Safety Meeting Records). The few tracks that I have heard so far have offered me a competent mix of raucous garage rock (“Nighttime”), jangly, southern classic rock (“Storm Clouds”) and some more laid back and lo-fi acoustic tunes. Each of the tracks I have heard feature the fun and effectively reckless vocals of Sean Spellman. It’s the laid-back acoustic numbers that have stolen the show for me at this juncture. I know it’s easy (and pretty annoying for the most part, I’ll admit) to compare bands that straddle the line between rock, folk and country to Ryan Adams, but I think if you like Adams’ Heartbreaker album, you’ll dig this band. Similar to the Stephen Kellogg track from earlier this week, I was hooked on this song from the opening strums. Listen to “Cave Country” below and tell me you don’t love it when the acoustic guitar and harmonica blend so well together…

Quiet Life – “Cave Country”