The Pollyseeds' “The Sounds of Crenshaw Volume 1” album is deeply tied to roots in urban Los Angeles. Art Feynman’s “Blasting Through the Wicker” comes on the heels of a relocation from his longtime East Coast home to Marin County’s relatively rustic Point Reyes. “Crenshaw” is a vibrant community effort, with more than a dozen musicians (including young jazz innovators Kamasi Washington and Robert Glasper) convened by producer-saxophonist-keyboardist Terrace Martin.
“Wicker” is a one-man effort made in the artist’s bedroom on a four-track cassette. Martin and crew celebrate the silky sounds of '70s soul and smooth jazz mixed with some hip-hop sensibilities. Feynman (aka Luke Temple of electro-folk band Here We Go Magic) draws on the burbling rhythms of African Highlife and German “Krautrock” mixed with the arty moodiness of Radiohead. One is driving around L.A. with the windows rolled down listening to soul station KJLH. The other is a hipster-tribal jam among the redwoods.
And yet, a sharp DJ could make a very cool summery pairing of the sexy sidewalk come-on of the Pollyseeds’ “Intentions” (featuring singer-rapper Chachi) and the bristling joy of Feynman’s pulsating “Feeling Good About Feeling Good.” Or, at the other end of a temperate night, the more somber reflection of the former’s “Up & Away” or the very subdued piano-centric “Wake Up” paired with the latter’s “Slow Down.”
There’s a complementary compatibility to these compelling albums that together strongly evoke seasonal sensibilities and their whiffs of hazy nostalgia. Hey, it’s not all sand and surf here in California, you know. Sorry Dick Dale. Sorry Beach Boys.