Kevin Bronson on June 1st, 2010

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The Californian of singer-guitarist John Graney isn’t the buff, happy-go-lucky dude you see pictured on the postcard with swimsuit models. He’s desperate, and maybe a little it shadowy, and – judging by the straight-out-of-a-chase-scene guitar lines that open the title track of his “Sea of Love” EP – probably on the run from something. His emotions, for one. Graney’s twist on the California construct is manifested in his music, which is something of a Raymond Chandler take on surf guitar: Ride the crest of riffs, revel in vintage pop choruses, but watch out for the reverb – there’s an undertow there. The Californian’s lineup features members of Phantom Planet, the Henry Clay People and the Sweet Hurt, but what’s special here is that Graney has mined pop history without resorting to aping it.

||| Download: “Na Na Na”

||| Live: The Californian celebrates the release of “Sea of Love” with a show tonight at Spaceland.