Review: The Sea of Cortez, ‘Make It Sound’ (along with a missive on How I Spent My Vacation)

Kevin Bronson on
8

I spent some time on my recent vacation thinking about whether indie-rock is dead, or whether its frazzled head is merely bobbing in an ocean of couture music – the waves of preening electro, faux folk and calculated retro-pop that proliferate. My long drives in the desert were accompanied by a handful** of CDs (remember those?) that, at times, I feel like I’m the only one who likes. The freshest one in the box, the Sea of Cortez’s “Make it Sound,” got the most spins. It’s remarkable. Ever since the Sea of Cortez (those are principals Christian Thomas and Thomas Vincent, above) unveiled their epic (not a word I throw around) song “The Shores” from their “Testing the Waters” EP last year, I’d been curious to hear what was the next. It was this: an album of big ideas and even larger soundscapes, one that spans genres and reminds me of about 15 bands I love, some of them iconic. “Make It Sound” offers moments that satisfy your pop jones and others that ascend deliriously into post-rock and psychedelic territories, with a lot, on its 55-minute journey, in between. It’s an album that was perfect for a long drive. It’s an album that somebody with a label ought to get behind. But as a pre-vacation email informed me, the Sea of Cortez, who simply describe themselves as “a group of friends in LA who dig playing music,” have quietly self-released the album. You can get it for a buck on Bandcamp, and you should. If the chorus of “Brave the Storm” alone isn’t worth it, I’ll hand you a crisp dollar bill myself … you know, to defray the costs of earplugs at your next chillwave show.

||| Download: “Taking Me Over” and “Rewind”

||| Also: After the jump, have a listen to “The Shores” (No. 3 on Buzz Bands LA’s favorite local songs of 2010, and available for free at the EP link above):

[audio:http://www.mediafire.com/file/g51vio1pib1bmlf/The%20Sea%20of%20Cortez_The%20Shores%201.mp3]

** Top 3 vacation albums, besides the Sea of Cortez: Eastern Conference Champions, “Speak-Ahh;” the Prids, “Chronosynclastic;” Apex Manor, “The Year of Magical Drinking.”