Well Well Well
Palm Springs is the new album from San Diego, CA based band Well Well Well. Produced by The Mattson 2 and featuring their playing on most of the tracks, the album finds songwriter’s Seton Edgerton and Dan Nichol’s breezy coastal pop combined with the Mattson’s psychedelic jazz arrangements and expressive musicianship to great effect. Long a fixture of the West Coast surf scene, you might know The Mattson 2 from their recent collaborations with Toro y Moi on 2017’s Star Stuff, which charted #1 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Charts; or their recent full length "Paradise", which expanded on their sound and landed features in The Washington Post and Pitchfork.
The album began much the same way that Well Well Well albums have started in the past, with songwriting sessions at cabins scattered throughout the California landscape, at inspirational vortexes from Joshua Tree to Mt Palomar. Edgerton and Nichols had explored this approach before on past releases, like 2018’s “Poptimism” EP, itself a collaboration with California indie rockers Gardens and Villa.
Meanwhile, things took a turn when the duo hooked up with twin brothers Jared and Jonathan Mattson back in San Diego. The group got together at Jared’s ocean view cabin, laying down drum, bass, and guitars. They reconvened after the Mattson’s returned from a tour with Khruangbin and finished the album in about a week. Some local characters from the neighborhood even made it onto the album, including Jared’s pet snake and a neighborhood hawk featured on “I’m Not Him”. Influenced by 70’s AOR, Japanese City Pop, and lo-fi indie psych, the group explored uncharted waters of modern indie pop and ended up with an album that perfectly combines the improvisational jazz instincts of The Mattson 2 with the catchy songwriting of Well Well Well.
After connecting with Royal Oakie, executive producer David Glasebrook encouraged the duo to flesh out the album with a suite of interludes that weave the tracks together for a cohesive listening experience. An album of break-ups, make-ups, old habits and new beginnings–the lyrics explore themes of self-confidence during times of great change; Further reinforcing the notion that in order to share love & happiness with others you also have to take good care of yourself. A sort of balm for the paradoxically sun-drenched cynicism of Southern California, they call it easy listening for uneasy people. Sounds about right.
Palm Springs