You never know when a record is going to take on meaning well beyond its ambition. The Coast Is Never Clear is a superb pop album, with smart, bummed-out lyrics cutting nicely against exuberant, deftly-ornamented arrangements. And then they had to go release it on September 11, 2001.My friend Thomas once told me about driving cross-country from California to begin his life in New York, this album accompanying much of the journey. Tumbling buildings and transcontinental relocation, the title gaining all kinds of wrinkles. It's a lot of weight to put on the shoulders of an album that just wants to wallow in the anguish of love.
Beulah - Popular Mechanics For Lovers
(There's a nice live version too, with extra rock in the chorus. Give it a watch.)
