GOSPELBEACH

Alive Naturalsound

GospelbeacH readies the release of their second album, Another Summer of Love.

There are two kinds of people that become musicians. The first is a determined striving would-be pro whose eyes never leave the prize. That prize being stardom by any means necessary. The second is the besotted, intoxicated music fan and acolyte to whom music is the oxygen they need to breathe. Who live by rhythm and sound and absorb everything and are so deeply immersed in the art that they have devoted themselves to making the world hear what they hear in their heads–commercial success is an afterthought.

Brent Rademaker–he of Further, Beachwood Sparks and the Tyde–is the embodiment of the latter. And as a grown man with something still to say, he’s made his most detailed and mature work yet with his most recent outfit, GospelbeacH. Another Summer of Love–which drops June 15th–is an adult’s version of the dreamy American roots music that we’ve come to expect from the Floridian turned Angeleno.

Like his fellow Sunshine State emigre Gram Parsons, Rademaker has drawn nourishment from the openness of Southern California and the sunny, hopeful feeling that epitomizes his work is in full effect here. From the kick-off “In The Desert”, which slyly references the British mod-punks the Jam to the jaunty swing of “You’re Already Home” which pays a subtle tribute to Rademaker’s hero Chris Hillman’s “Girl With No Name”, this is what Americana is supposed to be and sometimes is not. Smart, informed, soulful, well-executed and avoiding the slick assembly-line of 2017 Nashville, this is the kind of record that true fans of well-crafted tuneful rock live for. Just as Rademaker lived for his rock heroes like Cheap Trick and the Cars, but with that glorious wooziness, the musical marine layer hanging above the desert’s basin floor. Partnered with guitar whiz and albums producer, Jason Soda and keyboardist Johnny Niemanns (who added parts to the disc from the same mellotron America used on its 70’s recordings, this may be Rademaker’s strongest band yet.

GospelbeacH hits the road in support of the disc crossing the sea to play Green Man Festival in Wales August 17-20 as part of a UK tour and starting the summer in the Golden State at festivals in Big Sur May 19-21 (HIPNIC), Sonoma, June 19-20 (HUICHICA) and closer to home in Bakersfield, May 6th (DEMOCRAT HOT SPRINGS FESTIVAL).

“Why make the same record over and over?” Rademaker asked me recently. He’s kept his ideals intact on Another Summer of Love and then some. Expect surprises from the man–and more!