Simple Pleasures by Bikini Islands: Album Review
Bikini Islands, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based surf rock band known for fusing elements of gloomy grunge, indie rock, and pop punk to create beautiful soundscapes, has finally released its most awaited 10-song album, “Simple Pleasures,” after years of hard work on a number of previous releases. There’s a grunge vibe to the record, with lead guitar lines that recall the style of more radio-friendly indie rock sounds. The vocals are incredibly strong with unexpected strokes of instrumentals that keep you anticipating the following song.
“Midnight Lizard” seems to have made into more Spotify suggestions, besides other singles like “Vines” and “Psycho Killer”, which leads me to believe that true garage rock fanatics would appreciate the entire album of “Simple Pleasures” and reflect on simpler times. I personally thought that the band did an excellent job at whipping up the sounds of “Bowie” as if it’s straight out of a witty detective series. Its soaring vocals and instrumentals easily make it one of the best tracks to listen to, yet one of the most overlooked in this album. The attention to detail is evident in every element, from the playful tambourine and cymbal smashes to the resounding thumps of the bass drum.
The four-man army “Bikini Islands” have pooled their best efforts into their 2022 July release, which has memorable guitar solos and rock ‘n’ roll riffs, a somewhat nasal tone from Wacker over surf-themed lyrics, and plenty of reverb. It’s likely you’ll love these guys if you’re a fan of Arctic Monkeys, The Hives, and Weezer to name a few!
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Photo credits: Kevin Gubish
Review by: Audrey Castel
