Song of the Day: Beach Skulls – Santa Fe

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJ’s think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Morning Show with John Richards, is “Santa Fe” by Beach Skulls from their forthcoming album, Slow Grind, due April 29th on PNKSLM.

Beach Skulls – Santa Fe (MP3)

The Widnes, UK trio Beach Skulls dive headfirst into the sounds of their titular locale, swinging from bouncing surf beats to trebly guitars to languid cruises with equal deftness. Since 2011, the group have put out a series of EPs and cassettes, each one driving the band to a new direction in their journey to explore new sonic coves. Their long-awaited, perhaps self-referentially-titled debut LP, Slow Grind, arrives next month. "Santa Fe" doesn't creep so much as it rolls along at a tumbleweed pace, hijacking the "Can I Kick It?" cadence and imbuing it into a Velvets-style sprawl. The beach tone here is more desert than water – dry and borderline stoned, a texture only underscored by the band's loose performance. With production so crisp and warm that you can nearly hear the dust blow through the studio, "Sante Fe" catches the sunbaked glow of the Southwest and lets it emanate through the track, unfurling a little more arid haze with each note.

The trio don't have any forthcoming dates announced at the moment, but keep up with them at their Facebook and Bandcamp. Below, watch the video for the band's track "Meet Me at the Beach House".