beach monster

everything about strfkr’s beach monster (it’s the last song at the bottom) screams, or, more accurately, deliberately coos comfort.  the background hum of conversation and the clinking of glasses appeal to the basic human need for social interaction, making the listener feel enveloped by the soft downy padding of vocal static and the occasional laugh.  slide guitar is intrinsically adagio.  it may, of course, become unresolved at some point but it always finds its way back to its root before the song’s end.  the use of delay on the vocals conveys a dreamy half-reality where one can be both in a railroad tunnel and in bed at the same time.  in addition the modulated vocal harmonies recall wholesome radio ads from the nineteen thirties.  most importantly, though, at two minutes in length beach monster fills the gap nicely between swigs of single malt straight from the bottle. pace is the trick.