Brent Rademaker would like to think that GospelbeacH’s Pacific Surf Line is a celebration of our country’s two left coasts—though maybe he would’ve preferred a bit more Old Florida charm to counter the L.A. swagger. “I really wanted to make this album sound like the kinds of music I listened to growing up in the ’70s,” says Rademaker, a native of the Gulf Coast. By and large, though, Pacific Surf Line celebrates Rademaker’s return to Southern California. For a collective ef fort, the LP is surprisingly lean, with more refined nods to the Flying Burrito Brothers twang that informed Rademaker’s former group, Beachwood Sparks. GospelbeacH—Rademaker, Neal Casal, Jason Soda, Kip Boardman and Tom Sanford—isn’t afraid to broach the breezy accessibility of yacht-rock mainstays like the Eagles and Loggins & Messina, either. The band will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new feature on them.
Rademaker: A message to record critics: Please quit comparing so many bands to the Byrds. They are my favorite group, and I waste a lot of time and money on records that you say sound like the Byrds. Usually, they sound like the Replacements without any tunes (or charm). I am starting to interpret it as, “Brent will hate this band,” if you say anything resembling “Byrdsian jangle” Stop it! I think you’re referring to the original Byrds lineup until Younger Than Yesterday? Because after that, they didn’t even sound like the Byrds. Gets some new references, and please, whatever you do, don’t use Felt.
