Energetic Surf Punk Rollercoaster

Opening with a crash of waves and a pulse of bass, Pacific Standard Time sounds exactly as you could expect from its title. The newest release from LA band Velvet Starlings, the album is an electric mix of surf rock and psychedelic indie, rich with vintage keyboard effects and prickly guitar. With its effortless West Coast coolness, Pacific Standard Time is sure to send listeners googling t-shirt prices before its runtime is out. 

In general terms, the album sounds like surf rock for the 21st century, sharpened slightly at the edges. A wail of ear-bleedingly high guitar at the beginning of “Pacific Standard Time” warns of the album’s jagged sensibilities. The guitar climbs up and down through a riff sure to leave listeners on the edge of their seats, before submitting at last to the filtered, surf rock vocals that slur their way through the album. The music can be slightly difficult to parse at times, its lyrics obscured by a telephone-receiver filter and lost under a crush of punky instrumentation; the best way to take in the album isn’t to pick it apart, but instead to hold on tight and ride the waves of the music. The songs of Pacific Standard Time slam into one another, tearing at the seams, the finale of one coursing straight into the intro of another. Listeners are lured from track to track with wild abandon and that abandon seems increasingly alluring as the album progresses. It’s hard to resist the urge to headbang to the Wild West bass line of “Melodic Bullfight” or the violent, slap-you-in-the-face chorus of the half-spoken “HG Wells,” distorted guitar running through notes so fast that the solo sounds almost like eight-bit music. The album’s drumming is cymbal-heavy, a high-pitched crash of static washing over the music; the songs are grounded only by the low heartbeat bass that pulses its way below the noise, adding something vitally alive to the sound. 

Just as fun as Velvet Starlings’ punk attitude is their penchant for vintage flairs. Touches of the psychedelic soften their sound here and there, pulling listeners into a 1960s fever dream. Organ-affected keyboard spirals through “Turning Point,” giving it a sound almost reminiscent of gospel, as though the singer is the priest at the church of punk. This keyboard effect pops up again in the convincingly vintage “All About You,” bass creeping up and down to give the song an air of sly, secretive intimacy as the singer croons to the listener about the illicit love they share. Echo effects cling to the bridge of “Pacific Standard Time” and surge in a head rush during the otherwise noise-punk “Amaz0n Prime”, imbuing the album with a dizzy, trippy quality. The vocals also toe the line between surf punk and British alternative, slurring at times into Arctic Monkeys territory on “Cannonball,” and reminiscent of ’60s psychedelic on “Melodic Bullfight.” Whatever quality they hold, the vocals are done well; though they rest mostly within a half-spoken punk register, the singer is unafraid to play with his range, thrilling upwards here and there for a twist of urgency and drama, or pressing down into a gritty lowness on the heavier tracks.

“We ain’t gonna die, we’ll never get old,” boast the prickly vocals of “Cause A Commotion;” listeners can only hope Velvet Starlings are right. With a biting energy and mirrored-sunglasses coolness, Pacific Standard Time is a sparkling release, a worthy product of the LA music scene and a great listen for fans of surf punk, or just fans of a good time.