Last night's guitar pop treat was from the East coast of the United States. Today, we showcase a fine West coast band - Sacramento's Arts & Leisure. The four piece has a firm grasp of the intersection of power pop and retro guitar pop. The chiming and jangling guitars evoke the 60s and C86. The scrappy energy and robust rhythm section could slot in with worthies from Glasgow, Dunedin or Seattle. And the sunshine of their California home is never far away. The band includes members of the late English Singles and Baby Grand, and impressed us four years ago with Choose Your Adventure, but had been quiet on the recording front since then. So the arrival of Rescued Objects was a surprise as well as a thrill.
Actually, this album is packed with thrills. Arts & Leisure is a band that buys their hooks in bulk, and they deploys them generously. The songs are well written, with plenty of depth if you want to dig in, but more than enough surface joy if you don't have the inclination. And the performances are exceptionally tight, allowing vocalist/songwriter Gerri White to effectively work as a one-woman girl group. The quality and consistency of the record could lead listeners new to this band to wonder whether they have stumbled on a hits compilation. Not so, they just have stumbled onto Arts & Leisure.
Arts & Leisure are Gerri White (vocals/guitar), Tim White (bass), Cory Vick (guitar), and Ed Carroll (drums). They also received contributions from Allen Clapp, who recorded the album and runs Mystery Lawn, the label that released it. Rescued Objects is out now as a digital release via Mystery Lawn. See the Bandcamp link below.
Bandcamp for Rescued Objects
Mystery Lawn page for Rescued Objects
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