Albums by this artist

The Coast Is Never Clear (2001)

When Your Heartstrings Break (1999)

Handsome Western States (1997)

Concerts

October 6, 2001
Bowery Ballroom, New York

March 2, 2000
Great American, San Francisco

Beulah

The Coast Is Never Clear

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» A.K. GOLD | STAFF WRITER

Beulah The Coast Is Never Clear Velocette, 2001 RiYL: Marbles, Gerbils, Elf Power

The San Francisco six-piece pop orchestra is back with their first full-length in over two years. And while I still contend that their poorly produced beautiful disaster of a debut, Handsome Western States will always be their magnum opus, this newest one finds the boys of Beulah becoming men. The production is significantly improved, the instrumental work is tighter (due to both a reduction in guest artists and each member's work to learn new instruments) and singer/songwriter Miles Kurosky's lyrics have reached a new level of simultaneous smartness and poignancy.

The gentle meander of "What Will You Do When Your Suntan Fades?" showcases Bill Swan's bossa nova trumpet work along with Danny Sullivan's subtle use of virtually every percussion instrument smaller than a bread box. The Beach-Boys-meet-Nashville-Pop keyboard lines and harmonies of "Hey, Brother" tells the story of a man unwilling to face the consequences of getting his girlfriend pregnant: "You said you were late / And I planned my escape."

However, The Coast Is Never Clear's shortcomings fall in Beulah's tendency to recycle the same song and name it something new. This record's "Silver Lining" sounds like a souped up version of "I've Been Broken (I've Been Fixed)" from Handsome Western States, and after a first listen to the record, I was convinced that they had re-recorded a couple of other older songs as well. Nonetheless, Beulah is still making some of the most infectious and smart pop songs anywhere in independent rock.

A.K. GOLD | A.K. Gold lives in Washington, D.C., where she slaves away for a non-profit organization and constantly compares everything to New York City or Chicago. She's earned her "cred" as a college radio and pre-1960 country music DJ, committed indie label street teamer, sporadic zinemaker/contributor, retired mail-order filler and occasional freelance writer. From time to time, she publishes Anecdotal Evidence, a per zine that will some day be considered for the National Book Award, or possibly not. If you want to buy a copy, or desire to write to her for some other reason, email criticgirl@hotmail.com.