The Laurels
Plains (Rice Is Nice) Don’t come looking for innovation from this Australian quartet. Starting with the grand swell of “Tidal Wave,” the Laurels unfurl a blistering, breathy mélange of shoegaze, psych-punk, and Britpop that rings instantly familiar. Yet unlike their more adventurous countrymen in Tame Impala, the Laurels don’t put a distinctive imprimatur on the sound. The initial pleasure burst wears thin when far-out atmospherics take precedent over songwriting. The howling walls of guitar feedback in the background provide some unique color, but their debt to the Nineties requires near-constant servicing. It satisfies in a pinch, but why settle when you’re so close to the source? (Sun., 3pm, Reverberation stage)
This article appears in April 26 • 2013.
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Greg Beets was born in Lubbock on the day Richard Nixon was elected president. He has covered music for the Chronicle since 1992, writing about everyone from Roky Erickson to Yanni. Beets has also written for Billboard,Uncut, Blurt, Elmore, and Pop Culture Press. Before his digestive tract cried uncle, he co-published Hey! Hey! Buffet!, an award-winning fanzine about all-you-can-eat buffets.
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