Through an ocean of feedback manipulated into a brooding wall of tonality and electricity, “Like a Queen” comes ripping through the stereo in high definition sound and welcomes us into the world of Sex People’s Cal-Island: Season 1, the highly anticipated first extended play from SoCal’s Sex People. Walloping power chords soundtrack a punkish commentary at lead vocal, sparking a bittersweet harmony that soaks up the flood of bass and reverberated drumming in the foreground, and anyone who was expecting a stock pop/rock experience in this record is immediately silenced. The tempo rises and falls with the tide, and before we know it we’re trapped in the clutches of “Sanctuary City” and its sporty rhythm.
“Sanctuary City” begins in a dazzling spectacle of neon grooving that slowly gives way to a mischievous crooning. On the whim of an eclectic melody, we wade through the layers of percussion that are vibrating just beneath the bass, which deceptively tries to warm the track from the ground-up but ends up being a prominent component nevertheless. The swing is subtle, but make no mistake about it – this song was designed to get us dancing, and in my experience a confident musical sway like this one tends to get what it wants.
Out of the ashes of “Sanctuary City” rises the sonic smack-down that is “The LA Air,” a fluttering noise pop ballad that exudes rich craftsmanship despite its heavy cosmetics and blustery equalization. At the right volume, you can feel every stitch of textured audio as it cascades from the band’s amplifiers, and a plain listening session is suddenly transformed into a spiritual awakening. Instantaneously, we’re brought front and center to the power and potential of high-energy pop, realized not thanks to fancy time signatures or top shelf studio software, but courtesy of the natural depth of a band with a rich original sound.
“No West Left” is the Cal-Island’s anthology track and manages to touch on a lot of influences well inside of its four and a half minutes of playing time. Hooks are never the epicenter of the action in Sex People songs; if anything, they’re an afterthought, an added accentuation meant to make our journey a little more colorful. That alone makes this band a worthwhile listen for anyone who is fed up with the thinly applied varnish that most pop artists deem enough to sell in mass quantities, with no account for taste or stylistic evolution, obviously.
Cal-Island: Season 1 wraps up with “Mr. Emperor,” which is constructed like an 80’s throwback but ends up riding high on a cosmopolitan groove that is eternally tied to the indulgent postmodern trend of the late 2010’s. Without a doubt, I can tell you that Sex People’s debut EP lives up to everything we would want it to be; it’s cool, forward-thinking west coast pop music with an electronic edge that puts far more value in creating a mood than it does propping up the band’s persona or gluttonously employing lackluster bursts of noise rock. Expect big things from this dynamite duo as the years go by – they’re already making a serious splash that is sending shockwaves well outside the 213 area code.
Kim Muncie