Gigolo Aunts: Pacific Ocean Blues

This is as smooth and even a musical offering as the temperate climes of sunny California, and I guess that’s kind of the point to Pacific Ocean Blues, the latest impressive offering from the now semi-West Coast-transplanted Gigolo Aunts. Previously available only as an import from Spain (where Gigolo Aunts enjoy a popular following), Q Division finally has released a domestic version for the North American market.

Born out of a hodgepodge of ideas and locations, the end results reflect no hints of any such turmoil, only a solidly executed and well-produced (by Chris Horvath) block of music that showcases an impressive range of rockers and ballads. This is pleasant stuff that’s oh so easy on the ears, and for many, might take its place as favorite Gigolo Aunts disc. While the end result is lovely, getting there was a rough haul.

Exhausted after touring behind Minor Chords and Major Themes, the latest lineup of the band essentially drifted apart. In spite of all their efforts, commercial success seemed more elusive than ever. E. Pluribus Unum (their then record label) folded. Creative force Dave Gibbs moved to Los Angeles and his songwriting partner Steve Hurley followed a few months later. Lead guitarist Jon Skibic was in New York and drummer Fred Eltringham was in Boston. Geographically and otherwise, the band was in disarray.

The initial feeling was that a new release would be a quiet acoustic affair, as Gibbs had a number of ballads he had written. While Steve and Dave worked on those soft tunes, Jon and Fred were touring with Juliana Hatfield. When the need to rock arose, former Gigolo Aunt Phil Hurley and Cavedog Mark Rivers (on guitar and drums, respectively) sat in on a few sessions.

Counting Crows’ Adam Duritz offered use of his studio for a few weeks in the summer of 2001 and by then Fred and Jon finished touring and joined their bandmates in Los Angeles. Some nice pieces got recorded, but not enough for a new release. Producer Chris Horvath remedied that situation in his own Venice studio. Dave, Steve and Chris recorded all types of things, finishing tracks, turning ideas into fully-fledged songs, while Jon and Fred came by now and again to add their touches too.

In the end, it was a fun experience. Without record label pressure, there was a feeling of calm not unlike California itself, whether doing sensitive soft ballads or hard-edged rockers. The final product captures that upbeat quiescent feeling well — you get music that sounds fun and sunny and special. For a band that threatened to disintegrate into disparate parts, the joyous vibe of them together as a musical whole reaffirmed their existence several times over — and Pacific Ocean Blues is that hard proof.

“Hello”, an upbeat little ditty whose title defines it as an opener, shows that Gigolo Aunts can do the power pop. This song about the mishaps of “forever looking for someone who’s an awful lot like you” clocks in tidily under two minutes and features the switch of Dave Gibbs on bass.

“Mr. Tomorrow” is a very Teenage Fanclub-ish type song, in that it features infectious harmonies laid down upon layers of backing guitars. This one about losing out on the present by always focusing on the future features additional players Phil Hurley and Mark Rivers, along with Chris Joyner on piano.

“Even Though” continues on in the Teenage Fanclub-ish vein, again using Phil and Mark as extra players. The lyrics trade on the Spanish phrase “the one before the last” in reference to leaving the past behind, in this case a past love: “This is the one before the last / A testament to moving out from under shadows cast / No longer putting down / All the things I thought about you in another song.”

The upbeat highlight of this superb set is the horn-backed energy of “Let Go”. This five-minute call to action to let go of the past features a seamless blend of horns and rocking guitar leads, one-upping such great arrangements as done by Sloan and Velvet Crush in years past. Chris Horvath adds some nice organ, but do check out the great Jon Skibic solos.

The title song (whose title was borrowed from Dennis Wilson) features the fingerpicking of Mike Lennon, as he does the Gigolo Aunts distant musical cousin to Ralph McTell’s “Streets of London”. David Immergluck lends some weepy pedal steel to this solemn reminisce and Gibbs delivers a solid vocal performance.

A better ballad is the hauntingly beautiful “Lay Your Weary Body Down”, one of those acoustic ideas of Gibbs’ that grew over time. Horvath arranges the strings to perfectly accompany this comforting ode at a time of despair: “When everything that once was right is wrong / and every little ray of hope is gone / when you feel a bit more lost than you feel found / Lay your weary body down.” This song could work perfectly for a number of television shows (tracks from this CD already have been featured in episodes of Alias, Everwood, and Felicity), and will be a favorite for those burning personal mixes for others. Fred Eltringham’s drumming on this track is outstanding.

“Stay” gets things back to an upbeat, with a harder Redd Kross or Fuzzbubble edge to it. This is the band as a tight unit, everyone doing their part to get a complex song across — they do and make it seem simple.

“Only You” does a fine job of mixing what could have been merely a mellow tune with some great guitars (and a nod to the Pretenders in one solo). “Once In A While” is another pretty ballad that features vocals from bassist Steve Hurley, with lyrics that bemoan how “less of a broken heart” should be a possibility (like slightly pregnant or only a little dead, I suppose).

The only acoustic idea that remained fairly extant is “My Favorite Regret”, which is as near to a solo Gibbs song as it gets (with a little organ, a smatter of drums). Gorgeous and clever, this older song is served well here.

You also get a lovely Chris Joyner piano version of “Lay Your Weary Body Down” and “Long Scattered Daydream” (bonus tracks included only on this Q Division North American release).

Hurley gets back into things with the complex closer “Maybe The Change Will Do Us Good” (though again, two hidden tracks that follow). With lyrics revamped to better reflect the loose California theme of these songs (it first was written about the band’s former home in Boston), one can only come to the conclusion that apparently the change has done them good.

But the Gigolo Aunts prove there is no rest for the weary: Steve Hurley has been playing in Anna Waronker’s band, Fred Eltringham has been touring as a drummer for Ben Kweller (as well as laying down tracks for an upcoming Tears For Fears release), and Jon Skibic has been busy with a number of groups (Juliana Hatfield, Ivy, David Mead, Run Run Run, Gush & Twilight Singers).

Renaissance man Dave Gibbs (who contributed largely to the Josie & The Pussycats soundtrack), has been singing the theme of ABC Saturday morning kids show Tokyo Pig, has written songs for TV, film and commercials, has designed a line of fashion T-shirts called Kid L, has written a hip-hop screenplay version of Cyrano de Bergerac, and is playing solo in West Coast clubs under the name Kid Lightning.

While some might prefer the true power-pop classic Flippin’ Out, there’s a strong case to be made that Pacific Ocean Blues is the band’s most well-rounded singer/songwriter effort yet, presenting exquisite ballads alongside harder rocking material with great harmonies and fine musicianship throughout.

Now that Gibbs, Hurley and company have given up the hard push to find true commercial success, perhaps fate and irony will deliver it to them regardless. Like the California sun, the music of Pacific Ocean Blues shines on, delivering relaxed warmth even as the outside world knows unrest.