Cayucas - Dancing at the Blue Lagoon Vinyl Record

Cayucas make irrepressibly sunny guitar pop that suggests they're the West Coast's answer to Vampire Weekend. Their sophomore album may sound like it was engineered by the folks at the Ace Hotel for maximum margarita-sipping vibes, but there's a cleverness to Cayucas' arrangements. Single "Moony Eyed Walrus" is an irresistibly catchy tune with guitars that skip like a stone, it's emotive strings serving as a nice counterpart to Zach Udin's vocals, which flip from detached stoner to beach party emcee. They infuse songs like the title track with subtle marimbas and snaking basslines to match their island-hopping guitars, while lyrics about a certain dancing muse give the song the feel of a poolside update on "Hotel California." Though it can be a bit on the nose when the band sings about Jacuzzi nights and Tahitian blues on "Backstroke," the song still has a nice Afropop-leaning funk to it and vocal oddities that make the song a pleasure. And "Ditches," a piano ballad about getting the hell out of suburbia, sees the band stretching it's wings. So don't feel bad about blasting Dancing at the Blue Lagoon all summer; you won't be the only one doing so.