Sea, sand and surf

There's been a mini-explosion of pop combos taking some cues from the 1960s girl group sounds of outfits like The Shangi-Las: The Vivian Girls and Best Coast leap immediately to min, to say nothing of Ottawa's own Peach Kelli Pop; Hollywood, Florida can boast their own product: Beach Day. The sunny sounding trio passed through Canada in September, including an appearance at Zaphod's.

Kimmy Drake rocks the Danelectro. That's a fuzzy Skyler Black at rear.



Skyler hits!



The whole lot! Natalie Smallish handles the bass duties.



Kimmie sings!



Harmonic action!



Eh, I didn't really need the flash.



Faceoff action!



Singalong action!



Extra Skyler!



More Natalie!



Their new album Trip Trap is scheduled for release this June.

Snow and sand

It looks like we're living in the era of the Beach band. Apart from famous precedent The Beach Boys (and local combo, the sadly defunct Beach Blankets), we've currently got Dirty Beaches, Beach Fossils and Beach House traipsing the globe. You can add to the list Beach Day, a trio from Hollywood, Fla. Opening for them was WinterHunt, a local band with a fondness for the British 1980s music scene. They played an original tune sandwiched between covers of The Cure's A Forest and Love Song, plus Bauhaus' Hollow Hills and Echo & The Bunnymen's Killing Moon.

Unfortunately they were performing under less than optimal circumstances since lead singer Ben Timmins was forced to head back to his native Australia due to a family medical emergency. Here's singer Neige Farmer and guitarist Greg Erickson.



Mogwai enthusiast Jay fills out the low end.



On to Beach Day. Their sound should suit fans of The Vivian Girls, Dum Dum Girls and Best Coast. Here's drummer Skyler Black.



And Danelectro-loving frontwoman Kimmy Drake (bassist Natalie Smallish rounds out the trio).



A fine set for a small but noisy audience.