The Coast Is Never Clear Montana

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.