Beneath The Pavement, A Beach! starts slowly with We've Lost Kasparov, which builds over the course of a few minutes finally resolving into a classic indie rock, pop chorus. The second track, Have You Had Success is a rocker reminiscent of Unrest with Mark Robinson-style vocals and that sounds that almost makes me think of Unrest - sixteenth note hi-hat sounds with clean guitars and a keyboard hook that reminds me of the hook from The Beach Boys' Wild Honey and you've got yourself a hit.
The Celebrity Pilots head into Shins territory with shimmery tremolo guitars, acoustics on the third song, Speaking of Candy.
One of the best tracks on the Beneath the Pavement is Wheel of Femmes; this is where Pollard's influence shows with a Guided By Voice-like vocal that sounds shouted through a bullhorn and some of the albums most appealing lyrics. Another album highlight, Long Live The Sting, is again strongly redolent of Shins.
The album changes pace with the lo-fi (La La) Last Time, an acoustic number that sounds like a cross between Elliott Smith and one of my favorite Teenbeat bands, Bells Of.
The indie rock kids will be talking about The Celebrity Pilots this fall no doubt; they've got it all – the shimmery guitars, the gurgling synths, sweet pop melodies and solid indie rock drums. On Sunken Treasure Records, the new label from Robert Duffy of the donewaiting.com music blog.
