This gratifying release is the debut single from Northern American, who, unlike Of Montreal, perhaps, or Beirut, ain’t lying: they do indeed hail from where their name suggests, Los Angeles to be exact. And there’s a distinctly Californian dreaminess to ‘Wander’, a tune whose joker is its beautiful, trembling guitar refrain, a shimmering two-chord euphonic swarm that floats above a loping rhythmic march punctuated by a prominent snare shuffle. Meanwhile, singer Nate Paul’s sweetly judged insouciance stokes a gracefully descending chorus hook. Everything here, from the piano glissando to the faraway-siren-like intro has space to kick back and radiate, with the exception of the curious bridge, where the band seem to be testing out the percussive merits of a complete set of kitchen utensils. This superfluous interruption aside, ‘Wander’ is sufficiently lustrous to combat the fiercest January bluster. They could use it in the States right now. Fire it up and glow.
Wander is released on 20 January on Heist or Hit Records.
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