Cayucas
spent two albums getting away from the beachy pop of their 2013 debut
Bigfoot
, but on
Blue Summer
, the allure of surf and sand returns to their music like the tide rolling in. A pastel-hued love letter to summer, music, and California,
Zach
and
Ben Yudin
's fourth album adds more layers to their hazy nostalgia and taps into a Golden State legacy that stretches from
the Beach Boys
Jan & Dean
to
Beck
to their own early days. To make
, the Yudins returned to the creative process that spawned
; they holed up in their home studio and dug into their archive of samples and arsenal of vintage gear. As
look back, they do it with wit: On "Malibu '79 Long," a shameless but cleverly executed pastiche of "Good Vibrations" and early '60s surf-rock, quickly shifting sonics evoke the way one memory unleashes a flood of other ones. The duo also capture just how inherently nostalgic the fun, romance, relaxation, and excitement of summer are on songs such as "Red-Yellow Bonfire," which sneaks some longing into its singalong choruses, and on "California Girl," which feels like it's more about the idea of falling in love than falling in love with an actual woman. These memories of memories give
a soft, slightly faded quality that's even more chilled-out than
was back in the day. The mood
craft is so laid-back that lyrics like "Yeah Yeah Yeah"'s "we're feelin' mellow yellow in the parking lot" make perfect sense, as does the whispery "Surfin' USA" homage "From the Rafters." Just when it feels like
might drift off into the sunset, the Yudins inject a little drama with "Champion of the Beach," a three-minute beach movie full of driving melodies and taut harmonies. There's something endearing about
' mellowed-out reflections on
, an album that's as light, warm, and fleeting as a sunbeam and should be appreciated in the same way. ~ Heather Phares