Eleven years is a ridiculously long time in rock ’n’ roll, enough for bands to go through entire life cycles, for genres to come and go, for new formats to swoop in and change everything. Yet for Beachwood Sparks, a decade-plus feels like no time at all. When the L.A.-based alt-country quartet last released an album, the majestic Once We Were Trees, the year was 2001, making its followup, The Tarnished Gold, a long time coming, to say the least. Rather than presenting some pale, beaten-down imitation of their younger years, album three finds the group truly picking up right where they left off so long ago, slowly rocking out a hazy country-tinged jangle that honours — not imitates — the Southern California music of the ’60s and ’70s that they hold so dear. It’s the sort of thing that still whisks you away to some sun-soaked Gram Parsons wonderland, completely — and thankfully — out of step with our modern technology-driven music world. If anything, Beachwood Sparks have got more consistent with age, smoothing out the rough spots and doing away with any awkward stylistic diversions for what’s likely their most consistent and hands-down enjoyable album. Beachwood Sparks have always sounded timeless; The Tarnished Gold only proves it.
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