CABANA "Normal City" (Halfshell Records)




Cabana embodies a take on a rock vibe I truly never have appreciated much, but managed to keep me excited to hear each track in entirety. Be forewarned: I am severely under educated in this area. Normal City was released in 2014 on Halfshell Records and is packed with grunge, psych, folk, alt, classic 70's and more.

Normal City has nasally droning vocals like any of your favorite Seattle based grunge from two decades ago or Midwestern alt-folk from one decade ago. The recording is ace with full, thick bass elements and crispy guitar work that has both accessibly standard elements and unique melodies throughout.

Interestingly, there are a small tinge of beachy, ambient vibes (Vine Portal) or score-like atmospheric piano compositions (Eyebrow Blastoff) on this album as well. These are the brightest spots for me as a listener. Cabana are definitely full of surprises and Normal City is definitely recommended.

Cabana also masters smooth minor dreamy jams reminiscent of Street Spirit by Radiohead mashed with hefty portions of Flaming Lips (Fits).

Cabana are an extremely impressive outfit who master the ability to mesh all rock oriented styles together with a few experimental tinges to make one inspired listen in full. I can envision this being a favorite for any heavily invested fan of the alt-rock scenes.

LIYL: Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Screaming Trees, Radiohead, Flaming Lips

-- Joseph Morris