Issue 2: the Calicos: Two Year Diary

the Calicos -Two Year Diary

If you're from the inland empire it's more then likely you've heard of the calicos, maybe seen them at a show, or they might even resemble some people that served you your beer last week in Redlands. Their debut album two year diary was released this summer and me being down here in San Diego somehow missed out on the news until recently. The dudes and gal were nice enough to send me a copy. I had seen the band play a few times in and around Redlands, but had never heard any recordings besides youtube videos. At some of the shows the PA wasn't always up to par so it was hard to hear some of the backing melodies and even lead vocals from time to time, so I was excited to listen to the album and really feel out some of the tracks. The opening track "Lonely Red Earth Mountain" is a good example of their dynamics durring a live show. The Percussionist Ryan Sarmiento sets the pace for Mr. Neuharth aka Gary to come in and lead the band with the folky garage licks and warming vocals. The third part of this trifecta is Shaina Turian on backing vox and snyth. For those of us who have grown up in the area we've watched Shaina jam publicly and at shows or at parties almost weekly. Her voice has been refined beautifully over the years and the combination of her and Nueharth's vocals sets the tone for the entire album. It has its guitar based leads and synth hooks, but in my opinion, overall it's the vocal melodies that stand out. The next two tracks "Den of Coiled Snakes" and "Footprints" showcase the guitar and synth as hooks that are catchy without being over used. The middle of the album gets a little more low key with solid folk riffs and slow dramatic build ups. The folk is then interrupted by the pop track "Bad News Bearer" and the 7 minute prog jam "A heavy Stone". Although its unlike most of the album its not out of place and in my opinion is in the best place it could be for the flow of this album. The album ends on a slower note with "leave it all up to grace" which builds up towards the end and finishes strong ready for you to just let the album repeat itself. So basically I liked this album. Go buy it now. Oh look you can buy it here!