Establishing the mood with a familiar electric guitar riff reminiscent of The Kinks, Gary Dranow opens Sandy Beaches with intrigue and a textured vocal from Klim Apalkov as we are taken on a situational journey with expressive prose.
The opus expands with nothing short of instrumental mastery to bring to life a captivating narrative, which we learn was written about “a homeless war veteran in Santa Monica”.
Gary tells us how “the song follows his emotional state and how the only place he is not haunted by what he has seen and endured is a futile war.” The message of Sandy Beaches feels very zeitgeist and could apply to veterans from any war, current or past.
We are enamoured by Klim Apalkov‘s grunge meets alternative rock vocal timbre, and can fully understand why Gary has chosen to work with Klim so closely on these new releases. His vocal reminds us of the late Chris Cornell, which give us comfort.
Elaborating on their influences, Gary confesses, “We have many influences among the group from Jimi Hendrix to The Doors, Pearl Jam to Oasis, and Chris Cornell to Bono.” It is clear that we can feel this come through with their sound, and appreciate the nostalgic elements fused with a super crisp and progressive mix and master.
The guitar solo is transcendental and leaves us yearning for more. We have added Sandy Beaches to our New Music Spotlight playlist, whilst we continue to stream Gary Dranow‘s expansive discography, and anticipate future releases from the star as he gears up for new era!