Alps, The – “Easy Action” – [Mexican Summer]

olmec   4/27/2011   A Library, CD

Easy Action [Mexican Summer, 2011] is album number six from The Alps, who describe their music as tropical, psychedelic easy listening. This is certainly the case. Sun-drenched, resin-coated strings, piano and static define Easy Action to be an album for mid-afternoon listening, ideally around 4:20 pm. Exotic influences combine with familiar Mendocino/SF stoner psych to send the listener on a nice world tour. This is a trip from the shores of California, to India, to Thailand, and back home again. I liked much of this album, but it became a little repetitive during a full listen-through. You won’t go wrong playing any one track, however.
I especially liked:
Spray (2): Cool drums, acoustic guitar plucking, and electric guitar jam sesh. Levels are perfect, each instrument balancing and tempering the others. Focus on one, or appreciate the track as a whole.
For Isabel (4): Spanish lounge music, with static keeping the song on its toes.
Loves of a Blonde (5): Genre-hopping, multisegmented piece. Sometimes piano takes center stage, sometimes Grails-esque drone comes into predominance. Sitar neatly wraps up this track.