Readers of our previous LA LOM coverage will remember that at the time of their visit to Montreal, they had only released an EP and a handful of singles. Although they were well received by us here at PAN M 360, we were curious to know exactly what a full length offering would look and sound like. LA LOM would finally answer this question on August 9th with the release of their self-titled debut album, The Los Angeles League of Musicians (LA LOM).
The instrumental thirteen track album explores several genres; as expected, psychedelic cumbia, surf, and bolero elements all appear in various places but surprisingly, so too do elements of western country, and Hawaiian slide guitar. Through it all, however, it manages to sound uniquely “American” conjuring images of an idealistic and sunny 1960s California. This is difficult to accomplish without also sounding a bit cheesy, but I would say that LA LOM’s in-depth knowledge of all their influences has helped them achieve an authenticity in their sound that avoids cheese entirely.
From start to finish, this album is a good one to play on long road trips or a barbecue. It’s a small shame it wasn’t released toward the beginning of the summer but there will doubtless be some hot days left this year to blast this album through a bluetooth speaker in the park or a beach.
