Across a snowy plain

Still back in September 2012, Hollywood, Florida outfit Beach Day came through town to give us a taste of the sunny south. Or at least some of the fuzzy, lo-fi pop that's so popular in certain circles right now. Opening up was local combo WinterHunt. They have a pronounced fondness for 1980s British alternative rock such as The Cure. They like their shoegazing and post-rock sounds.

Bassist Jay Langevin readies himself.



Drummer Jordan Buell ... been awhile since I've seen anyone with a Fields of the Nephilim T-shirt.



Neige Farmer was handling the singing, to her left is guitarist Greg Erikson. Regular singer Ben Timmins was called away to Australia on family business.



There was also some keyboard action with Adriana Ciccone.



Now for some stuff sans flash.



More Jay!



Extra Jordan!



Extra Neige!



As far as I can tell they're now rehearsing as a quartet ...

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.