Jedd Beaudoin

September 10, 2002

Left Coast are among the most intriguing bands to have crossed these ears this year, for theirs is a sound wholly representative of their name. (Worlds Of Mystery might just mark the first progressive album I’ve thought would sound great at the beach.) One way or another, you can’t escape thoughts of beaches, fog and oceans while listening to this eleven-track release which somehow manages to meld Doors-era psychedelia with Queensryche-era metal. The psychedelia creeps in through the wonderfully relaxed, powerful but understated drumming of Roger Nigg, oozes forward into the subtle jazz wanderings of bassist Alan Smithey and keyboardist Chris Kokesh who together weave a sleepy kind of magic that’s balanced by the enchanting melodies of guitarist Neal Hedergard and vocalist Richard Pavelec. Stylistically, Hedergard breezes between Carlton (“Evening In Montreaux”), a kind of noticeable pop everyman (“You”) and raw Randy Rhoads riffing (“Rainmaker”), while Pavelec holds forth with controlled (but nevertheless) emotive deliveries which add up to a refreshing, chameleonlike amalgamation of styles (as mentioned before) and eras (ditto). And if Left Coast ever fail to fire on all cylinders all the time (and one moment here, “Spanish Lover,” at least lyrically, is such a moment) it’s a kind of temporary lapse that is more than made up for by the stronger, more intense moments elsewhere. A highly recommended, highly listenable affair that will leave you wondering how they did it all and made it sound so easy.