The Desolate Coast are a band that truly sees the artistic possibilities of the surf instrumental genre. Time Slips Away is a warmly crafted album by a musical collective that interacts respectfully for a greater good. The frequent mentions of time and weather in the song titles evoke scenarios of epochal change, and the music is the soundtrack to the time-lapse images. You also know that with titles like, “This Can’t Be A Dream,” that this is going to be a band with lofty goals. This album is a lot of fun, with most of the songs driven by mid-tempo backbeats. poppy songcraft, and a joie de vivre, with the average song length at a perfect 2:30. The ballads are lush, dreamy and romantic, suggesting that the music is the cure to the lover’s tension. “The Lightyears Between Us” is just such a haunting stroll. The two faster songs have a trebly bite and attack (“Escape from Ape Canyon” is a classic, with nods to DD and spaghetti westerns.) Throughout, the three gently layered guitars weave together, each occupying their own space, not walking on the other parts, but supporting the overall structure of the song. Time Slips Away is filled with new and wonderful melodic ideas, making space in the surf music universe for The Desolate Coast, a terrific new band with great possibilities in front of them.
Packaged in card sleeve
