Aaron Espinoza and Jason Lytle of Admiral Radley, plying their craft.
Jason Lytle and Aaron Burtch of Grandaddy plus Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray of Earlimart equals Admiral Radley.
These two midtempo guitar-and-keyboard indie rock crews plugged in their effects pedals together and now the Admiral has come to town.
Jason Lytle multitasking. Yes, there is a song on the new album about skateboarding.
Most notable is how happy and un-self-conscious Lytle’s contribution to the music sounds. After the notable despondency that marked Grandaddy’s final releases Excerpts From The Diary Of Todd Zilla and Just Like The Fambly Cat, and the gentle return to self that was Yours Truly, The Commuter, Lytle is making playful wide-grasping music once more. The previous negative tension feels to have been dispelled.
As the band traded vocals around from song to song, the music came clearly across as songs made by friends for friends. The bandmates’ predilections play off one another; sanding down corners and adding waggish micro-events to each track. As light to the touch and warm as a breezy July day. Kindly pop rock music for hard-won vacation time. A heedless grin after the suntan lotion has run out.
Admiral Radley’s Espinoza and Ariana Murray.
Onstage, bass repair downtime was met with an impromptu whistling solo by Lytle. Ever smiling, ever bearded Burtch dropped in a drumline behind him as the other two AdRads plugged in an opening band’s bass guitar.
Espinoza led the crowd through a false encore, asking everyone to imagine how bananas they’d be going if the band had just left the stage. The audience happily obliged.
Admiral Radley hearts California, and California hearts them right back.
Molly Hirschfeld contributed to the creation of this post.
