Southern California has long been known for producing sounds
as sunny as its skies, but ever since The Beach Boys perfected it, other bands
have only been able to aspire to being ‘neo-Beach Boys’.But the fellas of Princeton (Street, in
Santa Monica) come at it from a more intellectual perspective on their first
full-length, Cocoon of Love.Sometimes their improved orchestration
can’t balance with the very fine vocals, but Cocoon is an impressive piece of work.
When Princeton put out their debut EP, A Case of the
Emperor’s Clothes (QRO review),
the nice-but-not-standout release didn’t quite put them on the map; they were
still more notable for being fronted by twin brothers, Jesse & Matt
Kivel.But, taking a cue perhaps
from their not-hometown, the band got ultra-intellectual with last year’s Bloomsbury
EP, a record inspired by & about the
famed literary circle, specifically Virginia Wolff.Since then, Princeton has built & built, including tours
with Ra Ra Riot (QRO spotlight on) and performing Bloomsbury at New York’s famed Lincoln Center - backed by a
dance troupe!
Princeton has set those minds to greater orchestration on Cocoon
of Love, without abandoning their core
sunny sounds.They overdo it a bit
on tracks like "Calypso Gold", "Martina and Clive Krantz", and "I Left My Love
in Nagasaki", as the vocals from either/both Kivel get lost somewhat.But those vocals are perfectly pitched
with the orchestration on single "Shout It Out", so enjoyable you truly do want
to do said thing.No other track
quite matches "Shout", but the mixes of cheer & sadness on openers "Sadie
and Andy" & "Show Some Love, When Your Man Gets Home", as well as
penultimate "Worried Head", all come close.
Princeton don’t have the balance down pat yet: even as some
tracks overplay things, the swaying "Sylvie" and restrained finisher "The Wild"
undercook.But they definitely
have their own sound & charm (and the brothers Kivel’s good looks don’t
hurt matters...), and are matriculating along nicely.
The gypsy punks stay united and keep delivering their unique sound on Gogol Bordello’s latest, Super Taranta!.
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