Beat Blvd. is Heard Mentality's weekly review of local releases.
If you're an OC musician or band with something new to offer–vinyl
single, full length album, CD, cassette–we want to hear from you! Send
copies, along with any photos and PR material, to Beat Blvd., c/o OC
Weekly, 2975 Red Hill Ave., Suite 150, Costa Mesa, CA 92626. You can
also e-mail us digital downloads at lb***@oc******.com.
Calcutta
Out of Daylight
Calcuttamusic.com
We admit it's a bit of a stretch to talk about a band based up in Ventura County rather than down here, but given a good chunk of the members went to college at places like UCI and Cal State Fullerton it's not like they don't know the place.
Besides, credit to any band that forms in high school 15 years back and is still chugging along while individual members are dealing with the life/timesucker known as grad school, so call them spiritual cousins to OC's own Thrice if you like.
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This all said, Out of Daylight, the band's third full-length, is the
kind of freshly scrubbed and clear sounding rock with electronic
touches and breaks. It's the logical end result of growing up around
here and listening to the more emo and/or Anglophilic side of KROQ in
recent years.
There are peppy arrangements, just-melancholic enough lyrics and
singing, and riffs emerging every so often that confirm someone's either
a Weezer fan or likes the same kind of hair metal Rivers Cuomo does.
Nothing on the album is going to shake up your expectations across the
board, but if ever there was a band that sounded like they should be on
the soundtrack for The OC (if that show kept going), Calcutta is it.
