"Let It Burn" is GospelbeacH's exquisite follow up to "Another Summer Of Love" and the third proper studio album by the infamous Los Angeles rock combo. The band's prestigious collective resume includes members of Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Beachwood Sparks, Circles Around The Sun, The Tyde, and Hard Working Americans. The album features cosmic solos by the beloved, late Neal Casal (RIP).
TERRASCOPE
RECORD COLLECTOR
A fine set of ‘70s-steeped, west coast country-rock with a warm sound combining jangly guitars, piano, organ, vintage synths, airy harmonies and wistful song hooks. – KEXP
The country-tinged California rockers share a hit of cosmic American music. – TINNITIST
If you dig the late ’60s/early ’70s cosmic cowboy vibe of Flying Burrito Brothers, The Byrds and Gram Parsons, you’re gonna get on great with these guys. Beautifully crafted songs with a smooth production, these songs are recorded with a laidback feel, plenty of space and lots of texture…it’s all the stuff we like. – LOUDER THAN WAR
Led by the indefatigable Brent Rademaker (Beachwood Sparks, the Tyde) the band’s sound on its third album is more or less a swirling stew of cosmic American country in the style of Gram Parsons, a kind of happy-go-lucky, Beach Boys-esque sunshiny pop and a rather careful Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers-influenced rock. – WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
The real success of GospelbeacH’s music is the effortless way that they combine different styles and influences within their classic Southern Californian sound. – FEAR AND LOATHING
The joy that emanates from each of these songs, is a beautiful thing to behold, and digs deep into the now quaint aspects of peace and love. For matters of the heart, smoke deep, dig it deep, and turn on. – ECHOES AND DUST
This album has layers. Taking Casal out of it for the moment, Rademaker and songwriting partner Trevor Beld-Jiminez have brought GospelbeacH to a unique place with this latest effort – all three studio releases have three dramatically different, but complementary soundscapes. “Pacific Surf Line” has a heavy Crosby/McGuinn/Hillman Laurel Canyon vibe, 2017’s “Another Summer of Love” brings out more of the Tom Petty influences, especially with the Benmont Tench-like wizardry of keyboardist Jonny Niemann, and “Let It Burn” is something else. It’s somewhere between Bob Dylan’s “Blood On The Tracks” and Tom Petty’s very underrated “Echo.” – TAHOE ON STAGE
ROLLING STONE FRANCE
There’s probably no sweeter SoCal sound circa 2019 than this band. – BLURT MAGAZINE
Its mood is a winning blend of downbeat and defiant, in a way a reflection or snapshot of modern America itself. – HARMONIC DISTORTION
Cultivated from the melodious mind of founding member Brent Rademaker and evolved from the kaleidoscopic California music scene, GospelbeacH blends country folk with modern rock ’n’ roll to produce inviting melodies and harmonies. – COWBOYS & INDIANS MAGAZINE
Unashamedly joyous but never in a contrived or unconvincing way. This is an album that you’ll need to embrace. – FEAR AND LOAHIHNG HERE
Whether you call it power pop, folk rock or alt-country (at times all of these terms apply) GospelbeacH are bursting with melody, with terrific harmonies to boot. This is straight-up genius song writing: honest, brilliantly played and superbly produced. – LOUDER THAN WAR (9/10 review)
If there’s a more perfect song for the Summer of ’17 than “Hangin’ On,” I don’t want to know about it. Here, Rademaker and his gang (which includes Jason Soda abetting Rademaker on guitars and vocals, Jonny Niemann on piano, organ, and mellotron, and Rademaker’s co-songwriter Trevor Beld Jiminez; plus a host of guests from the Beachwood Sparks, Wilco, and Eels extended families) have crafted a timeless tune destined to be on mixtapes throughout the hot months and beyond. – BLURT MAGAZINE
Aesthetically, what sets this one apart from their debut, Pacific Surf Line, is the sound: more 70’s FM rock than 60’s AM gold. Rademaker’s writing continues to evolve becoming tighter and poppier with a warmer more classic rock feel, nodding heavily towards early power poppers Cheap Trick, Big Star and fellow Floridian ex-pat Tom Petty. Not to worry, those sweet vocal harmonies are still there (along with the cascading guitar solos)… – AQUARIUM DRUNKARD
Steeped in the golden sounds of Buffalo Springfield, and particularly Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman’s contributions to The Byrds, while the LP title evokes rock music’s 1967 high tide, the band far beyond mere revivalists and the pool of influences runs wider than rock’s fulcrum year. – BEARDED MAGAZINE
This is a beautifully self-contained piece of work that is a real tonic in this fucked up world. There’s plenty of superb, angry music around as artists respond to the shit storm we’re living in, plenty to inspire – but you know what, sometimes you just crave some pure escapism. This is that album, buy it and soothe your soul. – ÜBER ROCK
GospelbeacH has attained a gold standard of the sort set by so many of Rademaker’s heroes — McGuinn, Clark and Hillman included. Ultimately, that’s a gospel one can swear by. – GLIDE MAGAZINE (8/10 review)
Five decades of free thinking have merged to make Another Summer Of Love a far-out success. Let it stone you to your soul. – R2
Those of us who value quality can bask in its revitalizing, sun-drenched goodness. – SHINDIG! Magazine (4 star review)
Songwriter/guitarist Brent Rademaker’s dreamy vocal navigates the hazy open spaces of “In the Desert” and cedes nicely to crunching garage guitar from Jason Soda highlighting the Crazy Horse-like break in “Strange Days.” The duo and keyboardist Jonny Niemann comprise the proper band, with friends such as drummer George Sluppick (Chris Robinson Brotherhood) chipping in. Soda is a true ace-in-the-hole, mixing and producing the album, and covering the variety of guitar necessities with aplomb. Rademaker, like Petty, is a Florida transplant to California, and shares Petty’s sense of arc and pace, tracing lines smoothly from start to finish, most notably sharing the Heartbreakers frontman’s snarling whine on “California Fantasy.”
Despite the title, this is no sound-alike nostalgia trip back to ‘67. This is determined music, as evolved as it is respectful of its roots. – JAMBANDS
The album is like a lost Heartbreakers classic made just before Petty went solo on Full Moon Fever in the late ’80s. – ALL MUSIC (4 star review)
I also sometimes feel a sunny Kinks vibe when listening to Los Angeles-based GospelbeacH.
“I like the way the Kinks reflected their surroundings in their songs,” Rademaker says. “We seem to do that, only in California, not London.” – NO DEPRESSION
A brilliant distillation of 70s melodic pop-rock that never shies away from eclectic sophistication. Melodies that stick immediately to the memory grounded by well-crafted arrangements & impressive instrumentation that will keep surprising the astute listener. – POWER OF POP
GospelbeacH succeeds wildly in capturing authentic-sounding analog atmospheres, and slight fuzz buffers the sunny acoustics throughout to form a hazy, ethereal bubble around the entire record. – The BOHEMIAN
A pure Southern California, retro and dreamy roots-rock vibe. – YAHOO MUSIC
The new record continues to build on the psychedelic folk rock of the group’s debut, Pacific Surf Line. – RELIX
Classy new record from West Coast revisionists GospelbeacH who celebrate summer with an impressive second album.
Complete with jangly McGuinn guitars, sweet West Coast harmonies and power pop hooks, this is an album to rejoice in.
You might tag this as power pop or alt-country (both apply), but you will soon find yourself falling in love with the hazy summer melodies, swirling guitars and its feel good sense. – PENNYBLACK MUSIC
HANGIN' ON : Loaded with sunny harmonies, tambourine and exuberant guitar. If there is any song that will get you in the mood for another summer of love, this is it. – GLIDE Magazine
An album that, with its familiar chords, washes of keys and pristine harmonies, gives you the sensation you’re overlooking a canyon vista, nestled in fleece, watching another spectacular SoCal sunset. – BUZZBANDS LA
Tucked snugly in that happy place between cosmic country and neo-hippie bliss. – MAGNET (8/10 review)
The calendar reads mid-June and I’ve got the perfect summer record for you, Another Summer of Love. – DAGGER ZINE
This is timeless left coast rock, and it will never be unwelcome to those who love guitar pop. The stories are vivid and true, the performances top-notch, and the variety reveals a songwriter with a comprehensive knowledge and love of guitar pop. – WHEN YOU MOTOR AWAY
HANGIN' ON : Gorgeous piece of sun-dappled pop rock, straight from the prettiest reaches of the California coastline (think Taylor Locke, The Posies etc etc). Summer in two and a half beautifully harmonized minutes. – CLASSIC ROCK
GospelbeacH is a new band formed by Brent Rademaker of Beachwood Sparks and former Sparks drummer, Tom Sanford. The band includes Neal Casal (of Ryan Adams & The Cardinals) and Jason Soda on vocals and guitars, Kip Boardman (vocals, bass), with a guest appearance by Nelson Bragg (vocal harmonies).
Beachwood Sparks debuted in 2000, with a collection of songs on Sub Pop Records that couched the band in 1960s’ Laurel Canyon country-rock of The Byrds, and the cosmic country of Gram Parsons and the Flying Burrito Brothers. With Rademaker at the helm of this new band, GospelbeacH continue to draw connections between the country-rock and pop on their debut album, Pacific Surf Line. – WXPN
As the aural waves break and the tide recedes we’re rewarded with songs celebrating California’s frontier spirit and the cornucopia of friends and adventures that come with a life largely spent on the road. Over the span of 40 minutes, one sun kissed cut after another radiate brightly as the band barrels down the rocky coastline into the ethers of steam, salt, fog and grass. – AQUARIUM DRUNKARD
Pacific Surf Line has the feel of guys playing the music they want to play and having a blast doing it. Between the band members’ musical history, their band name and the album’s title and cover art, you kinda get the idea: this release is a whole lotta fun 70’s California FM rock with healthy dollops of folk, country and psychedelic. A perfect dose of musical sunshine for these dark days of winter. – Aaron “Neddy” Stein / JAMBASE
The lineage of kaleidoscopic California folk-rock could hardly have meandered into better hands than those of GospelbeacH…. – BUZZBANDS LA
A musical homage to those who came before them, namely another of LA’s adopted sons, Gram Parsons, but also a cosmic American nod to other beacons of decades past, like the "Pacific Surf Line," which is the name of the album and of an old railroad route that traveled the California coast.
Needless to say, this album is sunny and breezy and many other adjectives you could associate with SoCal, but it’s also surprisingly sparse at times, letting the vibes flow through individual leads. – Shirley Halperin / 89.3 KPCC
A laidback homage to the sounds of Marin County and Topanga Canyon, jangly! – UNCUT
GospelbeacH’s debut LP Pacific Surf Line reminds the listener that there is still stardust to be found in the search for the endless summer. The perfectly dosed tracks here toe the line between hippie sunshine daydream, Sunset Strip wooziness, and high-and-lonesome sadness. – LA RECORDS
More refined nods to the Flying Burrito Brothers twang that informed Rademaker’s former group, Beachwood Sparks. – MAGNET
GospelbeacH’s debut album “Pacific Surf Line” (an homage to steamer trains of the California coast) sounds like the sum of all those parts — bluesy folk with a sunny disposition. And a cockeyed Grateful Dead smile, if you will. – EARS WIDE OPEN
With the buoyant, country-influenced sound of Beachwood Sparks in mind, these musicians clearly clicked in the studio… – NPR's WORLD CAFE
Pacific Surf Line comes barreling down the tracks carrying the five band mates’ rich individual histories. But its most precious cargo is the effortless creative rapport that’s forged these five diverse individuals into a vibrant musical community. – GLIDE MAGAZINE
This is much more than a case of Beachwood Sparks Mach II, with everyone else on board providing valuable contributions that give this the sort of communal feel that you'd associate with the vintage San Francisco scene. – THE ACTIVE LISTENER
Touching not only on country-rock, there are regular forays into sunshine-pop, soft-rock and beyond. – SHINDIG! Magazine
The group's debut album Pacific Surf Line builds on the California folk-rock tradition, with a side of blues and some seasons of psychedelia. – RELIX
Maybe I just have The Grateful Dead on the brain since the band played their final reunion shows last weekend, but their influence was the first one I could hear in the initial bright hiccups of GospelbeacH’s debut song “Sunshine Skyway.” – Caitlin White / STEREOGUM
A sleepy (stoned?) version of folk-rock structures that’s somewhere between kaleidoscopic alt-country and the times when the Grateful Dead decided to color within the lines. – SPIN Magazine