California’s SadGirl is rooted, but not anchored in the past and by mixing surf, soul, 50s doo-wop and Beach Boys pop into a perfect concoction of their own, their debut full-length, ‘Water‘ is 10 tracks of lo-fi beauty. Even though ‘Water‘ is their debut, they’ve been around a while releasing singles and EPs since around 2014. It’s been a long wait for those of us along for the ride, but man is it worth it.
On ‘Water‘ SadGirl has surrendered the hard surf a little but in turn, amped up the Muscle Shoals-inspired soul which makes ‘Water’ a quieter record than expected. Although the rock out of early singles like ‘Motorbreath‘ or the out and out garage rock of ‘Penelope’s Leg‘, are noticeably absent, after a few listens to ‘Water‘ you realize that it just sounds like a band that has zeroed in on what they want to be.
There are a couple of familiar songs for any longtime fans; ‘Breakfast For 2‘ and the favorite ‘Little Queenie‘ both slow-dancing gems, made the cut and there’s more of that scattered throughout. The southern soul of opener ‘The Ocean’ with its shimmering Hawaiian-style guitar is stunning and the nostalgic sounding stroll of ‘Chlorine’ are standout tracks. ‘Hazelnut Coffee’ is one of three instrumentals along with ‘Muholland‘ and ‘Avalon’, and all three are slower and less rocking that ‘Motorbreath‘ but in the end it all works here. You can almost taste the salty California ocean air and feel the breeze on a song like ‘Avalon‘.
The album ends with the Lennonesque title track complete with its rolling waves on the fade out. “It’s about realizing your own mortality and changing nature,” guitarist and vocalist Misha Lindes says. “It’s meant to be melancholy but still beautiful in its realization.”
Ultimately ‘Water‘ is a perfectly timed slow burn with its dreamy, easy-going vibe. It is sure to be the feel-good hit of the summer and maybe of the whole year. And lord knows we need a little more of that.
