Song of the Day: Math and Physics Club - Coastal California, 1985

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 DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Morning Show with John Richards, is “Coastal California, 1985” by Math and Physics Club from their 2016 collection, In This Together: EPs, B-Sides, Rarities, and Unreleased Songs 2005-2015, on Matinée Recordings.

Math and Physics Club - Coastal California, 1985 (MP3)Seattle based twee pop band Math and Physics Club started as a basement project between childhood friends Charles Bert and James Werle in 2004. The lineup has changed throughout the band's twelve year existence, and currently consists of the duo and Ethan Jones (the same Ethan Jones that started the internet's first Beach Boys mailing list) on bass. Math and Physics Club wears its influences on its sleeves, consistently garnering comparisons to greats like the Lucksmiths and The New Pornographers. The group's recognizable sound has never been an issue though, because while it is certainly familiar, it is never tiresome. Math and Physics Club is so consistently good, that their 2016 album of B-Sides and rarities plays as though it could be a best hits album. And while the album journeys through the band's career, it does also have something new, in the form of song of the day "Coastal California, 1985." The sunny track was recorded by Jackson Long who has also worked with the likes of Death Cab for Cutie, BOAT and The Postal Service. It finds Bert crooning over light and uplifting instrumentation, reminiscing about a sunny drive through California long ago. The track offers a warmth that will soon be in high demand in the Pacific Northwest, and serves as the icing on the nostalgic cake that is the group's most recent release.

Unfortunately the band was forced to cancel their record release show at the Vera Project last month, but keep an eye on their Facebook and website for news on a potential rescheduling. In the meantime, check out the band play "Love or Loneliness" live during the KEXP & Seattle Center's Concerts at the Mural series in 2011 below: