Despite reforming in 2008, California psych-country providers Beachwood Sparks haven't released a full-length since 2001's Once We Were Trees -- that is until now. The group have finally announced that record's follow-up, titled Tarnished Gold, will arrive June 26 through Sub Pop.
A press release explains that the album features the "classic" lineup of singer/guitarist Chris Gunst, singer/bassist Brent Rademaker, singer/multi-instrumentalist Farmer Dave Scher and singer/drummer Aaron Sperske, as well as features some help from their friends. Also included on the sessions are Ariel Pink, pedal steel player Dan Horne, six-string-slinging brothers Knight and Neal Casal, and more. Once We Were Trees producer Thom Monahan, meanwhile, manned the boards.
"Everybody thinks our dream would be to have a time machine and travel back to hang out with the Burrito Brothers," Rademaker alluded of the group's sound in a statement. "That would be fun. Chris and I even used to joke about being Chris Hillman and Gram Parsons. 'Which one am I? You don't sound like Gram, and I don't either.' But you could picture Farmer Dave all the way back in the Gold Rush era -- he's got such an old spirit. Chris has that too. It would be impossible to do this without each one of those guys."
While tracks like "Forget the Song," which you can stream and/or download below, are said to take the band to familiar territory, Beachwood Sparks apparently spread their wings on cuts like the mariachi-influenced "Talk About Lonesome," while the lyrics on "Water from the Well" and "Nature's Light" delve into the beauty of Northern California.
"We're treading in areas that we never thought we'd go on this record," Rademaker added. "The theme has probably been touched on by some other bands, but it's our own way of looking at it. And we actually lived this. For a lot of years now, we've represented this part of the country, this town and music in this town. We've been through a lot of struggle in terms of money, music and the lifestyle, and I think The Tarnished Gold really gets into all that -- the meaning is right there in the title."
Up above, you can see the cover art for Tarnished Gold.
A press release explains that the album features the "classic" lineup of singer/guitarist Chris Gunst, singer/bassist Brent Rademaker, singer/multi-instrumentalist Farmer Dave Scher and singer/drummer Aaron Sperske, as well as features some help from their friends. Also included on the sessions are Ariel Pink, pedal steel player Dan Horne, six-string-slinging brothers Knight and Neal Casal, and more. Once We Were Trees producer Thom Monahan, meanwhile, manned the boards.
"Everybody thinks our dream would be to have a time machine and travel back to hang out with the Burrito Brothers," Rademaker alluded of the group's sound in a statement. "That would be fun. Chris and I even used to joke about being Chris Hillman and Gram Parsons. 'Which one am I? You don't sound like Gram, and I don't either.' But you could picture Farmer Dave all the way back in the Gold Rush era -- he's got such an old spirit. Chris has that too. It would be impossible to do this without each one of those guys."
While tracks like "Forget the Song," which you can stream and/or download below, are said to take the band to familiar territory, Beachwood Sparks apparently spread their wings on cuts like the mariachi-influenced "Talk About Lonesome," while the lyrics on "Water from the Well" and "Nature's Light" delve into the beauty of Northern California.
"We're treading in areas that we never thought we'd go on this record," Rademaker added. "The theme has probably been touched on by some other bands, but it's our own way of looking at it. And we actually lived this. For a lot of years now, we've represented this part of the country, this town and music in this town. We've been through a lot of struggle in terms of money, music and the lifestyle, and I think The Tarnished Gold really gets into all that -- the meaning is right there in the title."
Up above, you can see the cover art for Tarnished Gold.
