Customer Reviews

Coast Is Never Clear

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Coast is Never Clear is one solid piece of work. So solid that even the bad songs are good. For those of you who weren't fans before this record, you really should give the band another chance becuase it's quite obvious that they have no intention of repeating themselves. As some of you know "Handsome Western States" was lo-fi, sloppy and oddly charming in an out of tune sort of way, and "Heartstrings" of course was the sweet, bubbly, orchestrated indie breakthrough a couple years ago. This record, however, keeps those same hooks and melodies intact but overall has a darker and more mellow agenda ie. they've grown up. These days Beulah is more like Wilco than the Apples in Stereo, which is a good thing in my opinion. The lyrics are amazing as usual, except this time they're far more emotional and less Pavementy. The instrumentation is fabulous, and if you use headphones you'll find yourself hearing new things for months to come. Overall it's just a really gorgeous and rewarding album.

Of Beulah's four albums, three of them are flat out great. THE COAST IS NEVER CLEAR is the second of the three, not departing too far from the excellence of their previous gem WHEN YOUR HEARTSTRINGS BREAK. Both albums are full of luscious pop songs, driven by great hooks and frequently astonishing arrangements. Some of the sounds they employ in their songs are stunning and completely unexpected, but almost always delightful and gorgeous. For instance, in "Gene Autry," when bells are used in the bridge to the chorus and in the chorus itself. Bells? Beulah on both COAST and HEARTSTRINGS reminds me of the Beatles or perhaps Sam Phillips on her MARTINIS AND BIKINIS (produced by her husband T-Bone Burnett) in the way they manage to use a host of unexpected sounds and musical instruments to take the music to the next level. The result is a persistently surprising musical texture.

And the horns! On YOKO they would jettison the horns (though the music would be no less delightful despite that), but on this one Beulah continued to be one of the few great rock bands to successfully integrate horns into a band. A Chicago band (albeit via Austin, Texas), Poi Dog Pondering, somewhat resembled Beulah in having a very large and fluid membership (both bands at time could boast nearly twenty members) as well as a crack brass ensemble, but for my taste Poi Dog never quite matched Beulah in the quality of their songs.

The one dissonant note on the album is that the weakest number of the disc, the perplexing "Hello Resolven," starts things off. But once past that weak cut, it is one superb pop tune after another. Highlights include the stellar "A Good Man is Easy to Kill," which later inspired the title of the film made of their farewell tour, A GOOD BAND IS EASY TO KILL. Many of the reviews here cite "Gene Autry" as a highpoint, and I won't quibble with that, though I like the horns-driven "Silver Lining" even more. And "I'll Be Your Lampshade" has a nice country tilt. But really, except for the initial weak cut, I don't dislike a single song on the entire disc.

Anyone who loves power pop or alternative music should get this disc. Just because the band is gone doesn't mean their music can't live on.

Beulah does not, has not, and will probably never sound like the Beach Boys. In fact, any comparsion to the Beach Boys is unfair and misguided, not only to the Beach Boys, but also to Beulah. With that said, if you're looking for a retro inspired Pet Sounds wannabe pop album, look elsewhere. While Beulah is definitely influenced by the Beach Boys, they do not live in the sixties and are definitely linked more to the early 90's indie sounds of Pavement, GBV, Superchunk, Treepeople, and Archers of Loaf. What makes them unique then, is their ability to keep indie rock alive by infusing new elements such as horns, strings, keyboards, asian instrumentation, touches of jazz, bossanova, country etc. to a genre that had only known fuzzy guitars and odd tunings. This is what makes Beulah remarkable. They are in essence a garage band playing orchestrated indie rock.

The songs on "Coast" are first rate, but if I had to highlight one thing on this record it would be the production. Put on your headphones and listen. For each song every verse, chorus, and bridge is like a mini song all by itself. Instruments cut in and out throughout the record seemlessly. At first it seems so organic and natural that you don't realize how much care and effort went into each part. This band did not just go into a studio and start jamming. So much is going on in every song it's hard to believe they were able to pull it off. Most bands have trouble making sure the drums don't overpower the bass and the vocals don't kill the guitar melodies. With Beulah, strings run into horns, harmonies glide over pianos, vibes race past pedal steel guitars and sitars, and it all sounds like it was meant to go together. To oversimplify, they sound like a band.

To repeat, ignore the Beach Boys comparisons, forget the sixties, and just listen. The future is now.

I was a little disappointed by this record at first, but I confess that it really grew on me. I'm a big fan of "Heartstrings," and while the highs on this album don't reach the heights of that one, this is a fun, smooth ride.

The sound here is a little more familiar, and I confess that part of my disappointment stems from the absence of Robert Schneider's flair for creating pop chamber pieces that made "Heartstrings" sound so different and novel. But this is a warmer album, no doubt, which goes down easier. It doesn't find that perfect groove until the awesome (and too-short) boogie-woogie trumpet break on "Night is the Day Turned Inside Out," but there's lots of fun stuff along the way. "Gene Autry" has a galloping infectiousness that makes it hard not to sing along. "What Will You Do When Your Suntan Fades?" has lovely, bittersweet lilt to it, and the soaring guitar arcs of "Gravity's Bringing Us Down" have an unlikely (for this band) arena-rock heft to them. (...) Miles Kurosky's lyrics are clearer than ever before, which is basically a good thing. 75% of them are very clever, and the other 25% are too clever by half. But the good ones are wonderful. "I don't love you to death, but I'd die if you left," he sings on "Night is the Day..." and every time I hear it, I think, damn... wish I'd written it.

The sound is sweet, the sentiments bittersweet. Come late August, I'll be sitting on my deck, watching the sun set through the haze of my third gin & tonic, and this'll be the album I'll have on the stereo.

On their latest release "the coast is never clear" Beulah manage to stand firmly on their ground and just rock on... so to speak. This great east coast band certainly plays something other than guitar driven tunes, which comes as a relief, in todays overdriven filled airwaves.
Their songs recall of the tropic and of Brian Wilson's (Beach Boys) style of composition, which is incredible for a band thats only got 3 albums and a couple of EPs. Their songs are filled with strings and brass, melodicly arranged and filling. The sweetness in the sound reminensces the magic touch Herp Albert could bring to your home stereo. All in all, the music is fluid and pretty fun. Easy listening for a calm afternoon, or an easy going party at the beach.
For those who have trouble associating the sound im trying to describe, think of Beulah as travis with a brass section, no depressive blues, and twice the creativity (and talent).
This only downfall i can notice in the record is the lack of a powerful voice. Dont get me wrong, Kurosky's voice is wonderful, but after half the records gone by the songs tend to ask for a little explosion or change of tone every once in a while.
None the less, this cd is amazing and definitively worth checking out. If you buy it, youll have some joyful music for any ocassion, or at least a smile and a good time.

The best review I've read about Beulah states that they "cover everything from the Buzzcocks to Bacharach." This pretty much sums it up. While they play well arranged symphonic pop, their attitude is far more aggresive and rocking. I think this is one of the reasons they sound so special. The Coast Is Never Clear is absolutely incredible. I highly recommend this album to anyone looking for their next indie band to fall in love with.

Beulah's new record is easily one of the best indie albums of the year. It builds upon their last two records by introducing more organic and complex elements hidden in subtle orchestrations and arrangements. It's a stunning effort, really. For those wanting a twee E6 record, you might wanna steer clear because this might be a little too heavy for you. All I can say is that I just finished listening to the new Mercury Rev, Spiritualized and Stereolab records, and I gotta tell ya, Beulah blows them all away. Pick this up now.

Beulah first caught my attention when a friend played their first album "Handsome Western States" for me. I was instantly hooked on their unique sound. The new third album "The Coast is Never Clear" is their best yet. Beulah plays melodic dreamy pop music that evokes elements of "Abbey Road" era Beatles, but also contains a more raw almost punk style undertext. If you listen to rock or alternative radio stations owned by the big corporations, there is nothing currently playing that sounds anything like these guys.

My favorite song so far on the new album is "Gene Autry." Its a bright and driving rocker that would blow everything else off alternative radio if it ever got any airtime. "A Good Man is Easy to Kill" starts off with a fuzzy 70's guitar riff straight out of "Starsky and Hutch", and then quickly morphs into the quintessential dreamy pop melodies heard on earlier Beulah songs like "Emma Blowgun's Last Stand." "Burned by the Sun" could fit right into the middle of side two of "Abbey Road" and no one would notice. Thats a complement! "Night is the Day Turned Inside Out" evokes the sound of the album "Nixon" by Lambchop. "Cruel Minor Change" could fit right into "Up on the Sun" by the Meat Puppets. "Gravity's Bringing Us Down" reminds me of the Dandy Warhols. "Silver Lining" is a raw hard driving song that sounds like early Beulah, and "What will you do when Your Suntan Fades" is the best elevator music you've ever heard. One final note: skip right past song #1 "Hello Resolven", its the worst song on the album.

It may not grab you the first or second listen, but by the third you'll be completely hooked. The sly and intricate instrumentation, along with the incredibly catchy vocal lines just sort of creep up on you, and the next thing you know, you have a full blown pop addiction. Check out the samples below and you'll notice Beulah's greatest attribute: diversity. Every song sounds completely different from the next, yet each song sounds like the same band, without seeming forced. This is my vote for best pop record of the year. RIYL Wilco, Velvet Underground, Flaming Lips, Replacements, Big Star and Pavement.

This record is easily one of the most heartbreaking records of the year. Don't be fooled by the beautiful music or the mellow singing, listen to the lyrics. For instance, check out "A Good Man is Easy to Kill," a true story about how singer Miles Kurosky almost lost his father in a car accident. His father surivived with a broken neck and spent the next year recovering, but Miles gives us a heart stopping tale of a son begging his father to "give up his love." The song has some of the most gorgeous lines ever committed to paper. In the first line, Kurosky states that he'd be lying if he said he knew his father well, but he wonders "when you flew through that windshield and your life passed reel to reel, was there a bit part for me?" Later, when he believes his father is dying Kurosky makes a wish, "blows out the sun, so it will come true", only to find that the sun freezes along with his father's heart. The point is that not even near fatal accidents can change someone. Probably the most beautiful line in the whole song is: "I made a prayer for you, then prayed some more that it would come true. I don't know about God, but I believe in you." Absolutely perfect. It's what most people feel about their fathers. They will always be completely godlike in our minds but utterly human in real life. The record is full of moments like this. True stories with amazing lyrics. Those who just hear the pop are not doing their homework and need to give this record the time it deserves. With bands like Pavement and GBV setting the indie standard for "cryptic nonsense," this record is a welcome relief.