Garcia Peoples - Natural Facts (2019)

Arriving a scant eight months after their debut, Natural Facts already presents a distinct evolution in Garcia Peoples' exploratory guitar rock. With a name that references the late Jerry Garcia, the New Jersey combo honored -- to a certain degree -- the immutable jam band spirit of their forebears on 2018's sunny Cosmic Cash, which introduced audiences not already in the know to the crafty twin-guitar stylings of Tom Malach and Danny Arakaki. Rather than retreading the tired tropes so diligently trotted out each summer by countless noodling festival bands, Garcia Peoples filtered their more obvious influences (Grateful Dead, NRBQ, Little Feat, Phish) through a contemporary indie rock aesthetic that celebrated the present over the past. They accomplish this to an even greater extent on their 2019 follow-up, Natural Facts. An overall harder-edged and less-meandering affair, the sprightly nine-song set veers between moody psychedelia, jangle pop, and something approaching post-punk. With its muscular interlocking riff and pounding, atypical time signature, opener "Feel So Great" sets the tone, evoking bits of noisy '90s power pop and alt-rock. The earthy, Dead-like harmonies of standout "High Noon Violence" are paired with a snaky riff that could have come straight from Television's Marquee Moon. Elsewhere, the overcast melodic pop of "Break Me Down" feels more akin to indie peers like Real Estate or Kurt Vile. Having formed in 2012, Garcia Peoples are well-known for their dynamic live shows, and a jam-oriented cassette-tape community has since coalesced around them. In the studio, though, with just two LPs to their credit, they've already forged an unexpected creative path that feels like it could go any number of ways.