Listening to the new songs from the San Diego based quartet The Beautiful View will make you think “sounds like this should be on the radio”, which isn’t a bad thing in this case. There’s a familiarity that the band brings to the table; an honesty; unpretentious, politically incorrect and (as a contrast to the current San Diego scene) they are as “un-indie” as a band can be —dressed in Gucci shoes, tailored clothes and their shows often end in a boisterous conversation at the back bar with a tab worth of shots as long as your arm.
The band blends traditional rock genres from Blondie and even Duran Duran with modern rock bands like The Killers and Franz Ferdinand and even Interpol. For some reason the band conjures up images from the Miami night club scene in Scarface and perhaps that’s because they grew up ten miles from the border in Chula Vista, a city close enough to the Tijuana headlines of cartel drug wars.
And Chula Vista (translation; Beautiful View) has a surprisingly rich tradition of successful artists in bands ranging from “indie” Black Heart Procession, “punk” The Zeros, and “rock” The Dragons and “hardcore” P.O.D. Those influences ring true beneath the rich vocals of Aaron Magnan, the tasteful leads of Adrienne Cordero and the masterful rhythm section of bassist Paul Rich and drummer Duane Allan. Each of them taking a prominent role in the group’s layered songwriting and performances.
The Beautiful View
“The Horseman” (mp3)
from “Life Is Beautiful”
(Requiemme Records)
Buy at Amazon MP3
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