Every place has a rhythm: The Growlers are California’s
“I don’t know how you find love in L.A.,/
They don’t make them like they do in the country…”
As Brooks Nielsen serenaded the beach bum that lives in the sunny side of my heart, I closed my eyes and allowed my other senses to pick up where sight had left off. My skin drew in the last rays of the evening sun, my tongue focused on the sea salt that had settled on my lips, and the sound of the waves that lapped just metres away from the Pacific Coast Highway strained to make themselves heard over the music in the car. California.
In a desperate attempt to escape the monstrosity that is the Canadian February, my boyfriend and I had packed our hiking boots, some water bottles, and a whole lot of patience (traveling with a partner is interesting) and set out for sun, sea, and San Diego. It was in the run-up to our trip that I first heard The Growlers, a self-defined “beach goth” group who originate from Costa Mesa, Orange County. Unbelievably soft on the ears, it was their 2013 Hung at Heart album that lured me in, and their most recent release, Chinese Fountain (not as heavy on the reverb, just as heavy on the soul) that sealed the deal.
…a concoction of neo-psychedelic rock, surf rock, 70’s punk and 80’s new wave…
The Growlers have been creating a concoction of neo-psychedelic rock, surf rock, 70’s punk and 80’s new wave since 2009, and have enjoyed a relatively small yet dedicated fan base from the get-go. Since the release of Chinese Fountain in 2014, the boys have consistently sold out shows all over America on their currently on-going U.S. tour. A large part of their charm lies in the absolute brilliance of their lyrical ability. In a musical climate in which a song that depends on the lyrics “Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, yeah” is deemed worthy of 316,968,829 views on YouTube (Bob Dylan, I apologize on behalf of everyone), The Growlers have restored my faith in the ability of millennials to string together meaningful musical sentences.
“Prescribe me at 10 times my weight/ In a vegetable state so they lock me away” – if their lyrics were a food item, they would be the sweetest cherry pie you ever did taste.
Driving down the PCH from Santa Barbara to San Diego, stopping off at lazy beach towns and eclectic national forests, I began to pick up on the unique magic that comes with bumming around California. All of a sudden, everything The Growlers represented made sense. The warmth – not of the sun, but of the low, friendly-looking homes, the crowded-but-cozy cafes and bars, beaming out of the dynamic variety of personalities strolling along the sand – is enough to make anyone there want to creatively express the charismatic beauty of their external reality. If you’re ready to welcome these fine young men into your life, start at “Someday,” and I promise, one day you’ll be hooked.