Pacific Pride

Trimming most of the flab that the indie world has packed on over the past ten years, Pacific Pride is more than just a fine physical specimen. Airy yet athletic, it's a tribute to the immaculate jangle of acts like latter-day Pavement and Luna, one that serves only itself, not...

By Jason Heller

December 3, 2009

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Trimming most of the flab that the indie world has packed on over the past ten years, Pacific Pride is more than just a fine physical specimen. Airy yet athletic, it's a tribute to the immaculate jangle of acts like latter-day Pavement and Luna, one that serves only itself, not its makers. Led by Paul Garcia and James Barone (both touring members of Dressy Bessy), the group leaves the attitude at the intro and lets the sweet sway of music reign. Granted, there's also plenty of psychic and sexual angst lurking in the cleverer crevices, but ultimately it's stunned by sunbeams of melody and bright, lasers-guided hooks. The ghost of indie rock past has arrived — but rather than dragging your ass through regrets or nostalgia, it feels fresher than the future.

Jason Heller is a staff writer at Westword. He's the author of the book Strange Stars: David Bowie, Pop Music, and the Decade Sci-Fi Exploded (Melville House/Penguin Random House), and has contributed to the New Yorker, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and NPR.org. His work has won a Hugo Award and a Colorado Press Association Award.

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