Kevin Bronson on January 21st, 2010

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Raymond Richards has been something of a two-headed beast the past few years, his burgeoning duties as an up-and-coming producer at his humble garage studio forcing his singer-songwriter side to the back burner.

But now Richards (whose Red Rockets Glare Studio has birthed albums by Local Natives, the Broken West and Ferraby Lionheart, among others) has kick-started his own band, the Idaho Falls. And the man who wears two hats has fashioned a beautiful triptych of an album. “The Spark,” the Idaho Falls’ third full-length and first in five years, wears its California heart on its sleeve – gently twangy, slightly tangy, warm like the vibe at a beachfront marshmallow roast at sunset.

• ||| Download: “Blood in the Wine” and “Cloudy Day”

That “The Spark” reveals itself in three movements – Richards calls them “a pop suite, a melancholy suite and a rock suite” – is no surprise, considering the album’s gestation period.

“It’s took us a long time to figure out this album – the band kinda fell apart while we were writing material for it, and my production career has taken off since the last time we released anything,” he says. Getting into his writer’s space was also a challenge: “It’s hard. You’re sitting around in a studio all day futzing over a guitar tone instead of writing a memorable lyric or melody.”

Richards’ writing found support in his community of friends – Angela Correa and Rob Poynter of Correatown, Brian Whelan of the Broken West, Alex Silverman of Alex & Sam and Wendy Wang of the Sweet Hurt contribute to the album, and the songwriter got other occasional input too, as you might imagine. “People who come to record with me, they’re polite. They ask, ‘So what are you working on?'” Richards says. “I’m lucky to know people who are very honest, who can tell you when something sounds nice and something is shit.”

His most revelatory moments, though, in his alone time. “I love to go hiking in the Palisades or in Malibu, and I always carry a little notebook with me.” Richards says. “I sing to myself. … My head gets so clear on those hikes that a melody just seems to appear. I know it sounds hippie-ish, but it works.”

||| The album: Recommended.

||| Live: The Idaho Falls celebrates the release of “The Spark” with a show tonight at Spaceland featuring Red Cortez and Old Californio.