March 14, 2003

California Snow Story "One Good Summer"

This is the perfect record for the kind of weather we're having these days. It's cool, sunny and breezy. There are light, whispy clouds drifting by, not really threatening, not really promising anything. The weather could be cold tomorrow, it could be warm tommorow, but it really doesn't matter. Why wonder about tomorrow when right now is just so pretty? It's not worth fretting about; just get on with your life and enjoy the fresh weather, the blooming flowers, and the chirping birdies.

Well, California Snow Story is quite lovely too, even if you might have heard their kind of strummy pop elsewhere. You really don't mind, because it's all about the here and now with them. There's an ex-Camera Obscura (good Scottish one, not the loud boring San Diego one) bloke fronting the band--which explains much about their sound--and he's got a girl singing some of the songs, and occasionally they join together in song, and when they do, like on "Snow In Summer" or "Summer Avenues" (sense a theme here?) it's really, really nice.

The only complaint to be had is with its length. While the five songs on here are all breezy and nice, they just breeze by too fast, and hungry little pop-heads like me want a little more than a snack. Still, five songs and Calfornia Snow Story is better than no songs and a used Belle and Sebastian record. One Good Summer is perfectly good for those Saturday afternoon drives to the lake, the Sunday morning wake-up coffee, and the rest of the week, too.

--Joseph Kyle

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