I decided at a young age to be a non-conformist when it came to music. No, I’m not the type of person who used to like Death Cab before they were featured on The O.C. a billion times and then hate them with a hate so strong it can only be compared to that of a child’s feelings towards brussel sprouts. I just mean I’m not going to start liking something just because everyone else does. If I do, great (see: Call Me Maybe and Party in the USA – cred gone). If I don’t, I’m sorry. I’m no bandwagoner. I’ll admit I jumped into this a little heavily to begin with. In grade school I swore off all popular music and listened to the sweet sounds of Oldies 104.3 and personally thought Dick Biondi was my friend. The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Aretha Franklin, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Temptations and Tommy James and The Shondells were my go-tos. I went to a Beach Boys concert in 5th grade and nearly passed out when Mike Love shook my hand.

In my 23-year-old body lives a fan of music past. I can’t help it. So, when I hear a song reminiscent of the things my elementary school self listened to, I tend to gravitate. That’s exactly what happened with Delta Spirit’s California. Is it overly complex? No. Does it give me a headache? Not in the least. Do I enjoy it? Absolutely. It has an heir of modernity about it through the dissonance in the beginning, but still features the harmonious “ooo” sound that made me fall in love with The Beach Boys at a young age. Thank you to Delta Spirit for taking something that has worked in the past and making it work today.

Source: Wikipedia

Thank you also to whoever wrote the group’s Wikipedia entry and included that last thing under “genre.”  It resulted in at least a quadruple take from yours truly.