Painted Hills
(Birdsong/Parasol)
If you ever wondered what happened to Further/Summer Hits guy Josh Schwartz (who was also on the brilliant debut 7" by Beachwood Sparks but then left the band) well, aside from doing production work and guesting on other folk's records he is the leader of this new Southern California band. From Schwartz's previous work you probably already know there is a strong Laurel Canyon influence here but in addition to that, Painted Hills also delves into the ‘80s Paisley Underground scene once inhabited by bands like Rain Parade, Dream Syndicate and Three O'Clock.
"Come on Down" opens things up with a slowly meandering riff and heavily reverbed vocals while "Kaleidoscope Eyes", one of the band's best songs, lifts from the Roback catalog (lyrics even spew "There is no easy way down") while those opening guitars on "Morning Light" could have come off of The Days of Wine & Roses. While they know who their influences are the band isn't simply aping heroes here, on the contrary, they're sprinkling doses of said influences while saving most of the canvas for the big brush that says Painted Hills on the side of it and with songs this good you'll want to buy them another brush. Only one record in, they deserve it.
Standout Tracks: "Kaleidoscope Eyes", "Morning Light", "The Sound & the Fury", "Everybody Dreams" TIM HINELY
