California's Allah La's remain one of my favourite bands and I'm always excited when a new record from them as an ensemble or from their individual members comes floating down the pike every once in a while.
They're a guitar band essentially, harking back to the Golden Dawn and Era of that particular artform '65 - '67, the West Coach Psychedelic branch - see Beau Brummels, Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Love and Moby Grape.,
Not a bad place to set off from and set your compass by. Reconvening every tree or four years, they're defined by their laid back slackness, easy in the saddle, stoned cowboys, loping slowly across a Californian desert.
They're not a band that evolves in the conventional sense. Having met in record stores. they knew what they were after right from the start. What you get is better described as variations on a theme and I'm more than fine with that. I've never heard a record of theirs I haven't liked immediately and this one's no exception.
Zuma 85, their fifth album and first since 2019, (a longer pause than usual), takes up as if they hadn't been away at all. Swapping coasts initially to pilfer the Sweet Jane riff from the Velvets as the grounding for a couple of songs, they pass songwriting duties around to vary the pace like The Grape used to do at their peak, as if they're sat in a circle round a campfire passing a joint between old friends.
The record. apart from those initial riff heists is so definitely Californian it almost made me envious.There's an appocalyptic image on the cover of the record but no need to fear, it's business as usual. This is a band that are so comfortable within their own skins that it's a joy to behold. Job well done, as if anyone ever doubted it.
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