Chest Crawl,the 2012 LP from Portland’s Guantanamo Baywatch, affirmed the band as passionate adherents of early-’60s surf music. Despite what their name suggests, however, the Pacific Northwest trio aren’t hopelessly imprisoned in camp surf rock. In the last couple of years, Guantanamo Baywatch have released a run of singles pointing towards broader possibilities. First came the roots-rockabilly number ‘Love This Time’, then ‘Love Kin’,which welcomed in a country twang. Just last month, they premiered the smooth doo wop/R&B track ‘Too Late’,which is taken from the band’s forthcoming third LP, Darling…It’s Too Late.
“I try to write songs that I like and [that] are the kind of music that I like,” says vocalist/guitarist Jason Powell. “I’ve always loved surf rock stuff, but I like a lot of different kinds of instrumental rock’n’roll. It wasn’t a super conscious decision to get away from that kind of stuff. We were just writing other things as well.”
On paper, the aforementioned stylistic offerings seem to anticipate a nostalgic throwback act. However, even though Guantanamo Baywatch actively channel the music they enjoy listening to, they don’t settle with a tired imitation.
“When you’re making that kind music, you have to be super careful,” Powell says. “You just have to figure out what it is about those old songs that you really like. It can be so easy – the formula’s there, it’s been done a thousand million times – but you have to seek out the little bits, like, ‘Oh this is the key to the thing that I really like about this song or this genre.’ Use those old things as inspiration, but don’t try to re-do it.”
On top of the stylistic diversification, Darling…It’s Too Late was recorded differently to Guantanamo Baywatch’s previous two albums. Namely, they waved goodbye to the home studio and hooked up with producer Ed Rawls (Black Lips, The Coathangers) at Living Room Recording in Atlanta. They haven’t embraced digital manipulation, but Powell says it was time to move beyond the lo-fi realm.
“A lot of people listen to [old rock’n’roll] music and they think it’s really lo-fi, so they try to record it in that way. The thing is, back then when they were recording that music, they weren’t trying to be lo-fi. They were trying to be as hi-fi as possible. They just had old gear. I think that’s a big mistake people make, trying to make it super lo-fi sounding. I know that in the past I’ve totally fallen into that. That’s one way to do it, but with the new album we tried to do it differently.”
Before Darling…It’s Too Late hits stores, Guantanamo Baywatch will arrive on our shores for the first time. Having spent the last five years trekking all over the US, the band’s built a reputation for wild and unhinged live shows. Rather than an engineered approach, Powell says their rough-and-tumble performance style is something of a happy accident.
“When you’re on the road, you’re playing every night, you’re tired – you’re getting totally fucked up, playing drunk and a lot of us playing is just like muscle memory. A lot of your energy is being put towards engaging the audience and having fun, then also trying to wrestle with some shitty gear or a shitty sound system. But the looseness is not on purpose.
“I totally believe in performance,” he adds. “If you’re a band and you’re expecting the audience to really get into your show, to dance and to have a good time, you should probably be doing the same thing.”
Darling…It’s Too Late is out May 12 through Suicide Squeeze. CatchGuantanamo Baywatch atOxford Art FactoryFriday April 17.
