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Bad Weather California: Sunkissed

_ Family Tree_

Stare into the sunshine long enough and one might start seeing some strange shapes, one of which might be the Colorado band Bad Weather California riding the light-waves and singing about surfing, skateboarding and dancing. Like Dr. Dog without the retro-preciousness, the Californias hang in a zone somewhere between distant funkiness and fuzzy Americana, chortling in platitudes about the good life and selling it with shattering psychobilly bursts (the 44-second “Skate or Try”) and friendly vibrations (“I’ll Sing Along”). There’s a little less (in fact, none) of the optimistic folk slices that made their Young Punks debut so brilliant, but producer Seth Olinsky (of Akron/Family and their Family Tree Records) keeps the reverb under good control. With an album title like Sunkissed and as-they-sound sentiments such as “Let It Shine,” “Big Yellow Ball” and “Stand in My Sunshine,” Bad Weather California’s message errs on the loose side of Afro-funk surf-boogie. But stare into the sun a little longer and those shapes aren’t as simple as they look.