The prospect of listening to any newly re-vamped version of a Beach Boys track was a bright and exciting one, particularly on an autumn morning, a Monday no-less. YYY present a tribute that creatively captures the essence of the Beach Boys’ sound in a way that is fresh and uniquely interesting. The song features elements that are just as you’ll remember them to be, as well as many that are true to the tribute’s own creative aspirations and musical preferences.
As the soundscape emerges, the instrumentation has a mind of its own – one that draws you in for reasons other than the familiarity of the title and the concept. Soon enough you get the melody line, a similar performance, though with a touch of indie-rock passion sharpening up the edges just occasionally. The beat has a lot about it that stands out; you notice the drum line, the stop and start nature of the performance here, and surrounding this the rest of the track’s building blocks play equally unpredictable roles. It brings a new energy to the sound. As stated, the familiarity is there, the original enjoyment has been underlined, yet there’s a somewhat unexpected and even slightly haunting aura to the soundscape in this case, which makes for something pretty captivating.
To take such a classic and make it your own, without throwing away the core principles that made it work in the first place, is a tricky feat to accomplish. YYY have crafted this release in a manner that balances a carefree sense of character with a precise and knowledgeable, ultimately considerate awareness of effective musicality and historical context. The track sounds great, partly because you know it well, partly because you hardly know it at all.
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