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The Coast Is Never Clear
Beulah
Velocette Records, 2001
REVIEW BY: George Agnos
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 03/08/2002
While listening to the latest CD from the pop rock band Beulah,
I realize what they have done here is quite extraordinary and there
are three big reasons why I think
The Coast Is Never Clear is such a wonderful listen:
First, there's the unique way that singer/songwriter Miles
Kurosky has with a lyric. It is easy to see what I mean by looking
at the track listing where you find songs with titles like "A Good
Man Is Easy To Kill", "Popular Mechanics For Lovers", and "Night Is
The Day Turned Inside Out". The lyrics inside these songs are
likely to catch you off guard as well.
At first, the quirkiness of the material combined with Kurosky's
slighty deadpan vocals seem kind of gimmicky, but repeated
listenings will reveal a melancholy in the songs, almost as if the
cleverness is masking a deeper hurt that the songwriter is trying
to hide but doesn't quite succeed.
The second point are the melodies, which are strong, very
strong, without being obviously hooky. I would guess that the band
has listened to a lot of classic pop such as The Beatles, Burt
Bacharach, Big Star and Steely Dan. Points one and two make songs
like the standout "Gene Autry", simultaneously the catchiest and
saddest songs I've heard in a long time.
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