Java.DEC.20162-2

A TASTE OF CHRISTMAS
PUDDING 2016
SURF
Intentions for Intimacy
CITRUS CLOUDS
Imagination
It’s that time of year again, and this year’s Christmas
Pudding compilation is truly a stunner. There probably
couldn’t be a more heart-wrenching opening than
Keli Rutledge’s version of “All I Want for Christmas
Is You.” Rutledge was a rising star among local
vocalists who lost her life in a car accident earlier
this year. This is a beautiful, albeit haunting, rendition
of the modern holiday classic.
Analog Outlaws has one of my favorite numbers,
“Christmas Is Finally Here,” which is one of the least
carol-sounding of the lot. John Caufield lays down
“Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” like I’d imagine
Ryan Adams or Rhett Miller would, while Vintage
Wednesday will blow you away with “What Child
Is This,” invoking their inner Fleetwood Mac. It’s not
hard to understand why they won this year’s Proof
Is in the Pudding contest. Jam Now is the solo outfit
for Vintage Wednesday guitarist Jam Austin Murray,
and he throws down the delightful “Christmas Time,”
while Callie Young contributes a lovely acoustic take
on “Baby Please Come Home.”
Ironkill’s “Dear Santa” is one of the best metal
Christmas songs I’ve ever heard. Pop wunderkinds
People Who Could Fly take on “Last Christmas” and
knock it right out of the park. Kailin Kay’s sweet
take on “Christmas Is the Time” should be a local
classic. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” is one
of my favorite seasonal songs, and this version by
Good Boy Daisy has an infectious arrangement with
raging guitars and a truly rocking pace. Elizabeth
Tighe lovingly performs “Hallelujah.” “Jingle Bells”
by Innocent Elaine is a perfect punk-rock take on
the Christmas classic, while Night 3 Nations’ take
on “Little Drummer Boy” feels slightly sinister. The
compilation concludes perfectly with Aaron Honda
delivering the beautiful piano-driven “Song for Winter.”
Aaron “Surf” Tijerina has been on something of a roll
in 2016, having just released his third album in less
than a year. Quick on the heels of Islands from last
spring and the all-instrumental What You Wanted,
Intentions for Intimacy is probably his best work to
date and the first SURF album to invite more than
just Tijerina as sole songwriter. This may be what
makes it more dynamic than previous records, not to
mention that Tijerina’s sheer prolific approach speaks
of a revitalized sense of purpose.
Matt Uhler’s presence is immediately felt on the
opener, “Lipstick,” but it’s not just the songs where
he wrote the rhythm and bass that stand out here.
Songs like “Forever” by Tijerina make an enormous
musical leap from the laid-back sounds of the SURF
we’ve come to expect. It must be said that Tijerina
takes more vocal risks here than ever before, and
it pays off really well as he abandons his normal
delivery for a bit of a growl here and there. For fans
of SURF, there is still plenty of ocean-side pop to
be found, with the likes of “Floating,” “Evil,” “New
Ocean” and a few others, but the chemistry between
Uhler and Tijerina makes new things possible.
A sample of Alan Watts introduces “Serendipitous,”
which is another classic SURF tune, while “Autumn
Oranges” has a classic garage element with a
rounded Brit Rock polish. “Splashin’” has my favorite
guitar intro; it’s another coastline vignette that
sounds like how it feels to watch children playing
at the beach. Meanwhile “Stars” sounds almost
synthpop, as the sole instrumental of the album, but
still somehow feels oceanic. “Windows” finishes the
record proper, with an acoustic version of “Floating”
as a hidden bonus.
What started out as a side project to Tierra Firme
for Erick Pineda, Citrus Clouds has clearly become
his main project and delightfully so. Joined by Stacy
Huttleston on bass and vocals and Anthony Jarero
on drums, singer Pineda creates a hurricane with
his guitars. On their debut EP, In Time I Am, their
live dynamics didn’t seem to translate to record
completely. But on the full-length Imagination, their
capabilities in the studio can no longer be in doubt,
and the sound fully represents their massive stage
presence.
The title track opens the album and is one of the
best songs of the year. With a bass line borrowed
from Joy Division and incessant driving guitars, it
launches you right into the mindset where you need
to be. “The Sun Is in My Eyes” is up next and only
drives home that Citrus Clouds are at the forefront
of the local shoegaze revival and are also at the top
of their game. It’s as much psychedelic pop as it is
shoegaze, though, to be fair. The original shoegazers
were as well, which I suppose makes Citrus Clouds
sound supremely authentic in the genre. This album
is a testament that this kind of music can be just as
relevant and refreshing a quarter century later.
This is an album to be experienced in its entirety,
to get lost in like a daydream. The wall of sound,
waves of feedback, crashing guitars, delicate
vocals, hypnotic bass and thrashing drums all wind
together like a melodic buzz saw. The song titles
make allusions to ’60s pop records at the height
of psychedelia and the Brit Invasion: “Be Eternal,”
“Always Tomorrow” and “Shapes and Things,” for
instance. This album comes across as a labor of love
for noise pop eternal. It is an intoxicating long player
and feels like it’s going to be considered a classic.
32 JAVA
MAGAZINE
Sounds Around Town By Mitchell L. Hillman