Pristine Vocal Harmonies Distinguish Cities & Coasts’ ‘Postcards from the Great Lakes’

A few years back, Cities & Coasts’ singer-guitarist Nathan Hedges was signed to a small Virginia label and released a solo album. He met Welshly Arms' drummer Michael Gould when he needed to put a backing band together, and Gould helped him recruit singer-bassist Jimmy Weaver. Earlier this year, they decided to start recording as Cities & Coasts. Their highly accessible debut, Postcards from the Great Lakes, reveals the band’s classic influences. “Summer is Over” features the kind of cooing vocal harmonies you hear on vintage Beach Boys’ albums. And the same goes for the snappy “Crying on a Sunday,” a song that sounds like a cross between the aforementioned Beach Boys and the Smiths. “Don’t Scratch the Vinyl” almost has a calypso feel to it and is bound to get stuck in your head while "What I Want" is a retro-sounding pop tune that features jangly guitars and more of those pitch-perfect harmony vocals. There’s not a bad song here.