by Roberto Johnson (@_robertojohnson)
An undeniable electric current runs through the music of Mapache, the Los Angeles-based cosmic folk duo comprised of songwriters Clay Finch and Sam Blasucci. Their fourth studio project as a band, and the subsequent follow up to last year’s dreamy covers album 3, Roscoe’s Dream is their most fully-realized release to date, a sprawling opus that captures the coastal bohemian charm of their distinct California sound in its purest form.
Across eighteen indelible tracks, there are glimmers of Laurel Canyon psychedelia, an uplift of laid back, PCH-ready rockers, and droves of the spellbinding Spanish-acoustic-balladry that established the duo as a force in the first place. While Finch and Blasucci’s tightly woven harmonies hold down the fort within many of the album’s core songs, Roscoe’s Dream is a full band experience - the first Mapache record of its kind. With producer and resident West Coast vibe keeper Dan Horne at the helm, the group’s traditionally humble Echo Park sound blossoms into a dreamlike infusion of blissed out folk-rock and hazy sunset jams inspired by oceanside love affairs, spiritual housekeeping, and Roscoe, Blasucci’s faithful pup, Mapache touring companion, and the principal hero of LP number four.
The tracklist on Roscoe’s Dream is ripe with anthems both sweet and sublime: “I Love My Dog” kicks the record off with a solid helping of sun-kissed choogle and an instantly memorable refrain, setting the tone for the swampy grooves on “Pearl to the Swine” and the high-flying “Love Can’t Hold Me,” an album highlight that indirectly celebrates the unconstrained freedom the band achieves with this album. Elsewhere, the endearing “Man and Woman” conjures visions of a beachside honky-tonk, while “They Don’t Know At The Beach” pushes the twang deeper into island time.
Alongside a slew of mid to uptempo swingers, the duo’s signature soft ballads sound as strong as ever, as does the interplay of Finch and Blasucci’s dynamic vocal tandem. The slow and sultry guitars that accompany Finch’s lead on “Polishing A Band,” as well as the painterly progression on “Kaua’i Beauty,” lend a trance-like quality to both songs. Meanwhile, the tenderness of Blasucci’s vocal reaches a high on acoustic tracks like “Nicolette” and “Feel So Young,” his impassioned lyrics both affectionate and melancholic in their phrasing.
The richest moments arrive on songs that capture the band’s multifaceted talents working in harmony. In roughly four and a half minutes, the lap steel-laden atmosphere that makes up the psychedelic segue of “Tend Your Garden” / “The Garden” encapsulates the kaleidoscopic sound palette of modern California country. A desperate and danceable plea to a departed male partner, “Tell Him” is fortified by a medley of syncopated retro grooves that warrant real estate on any incarnation of a summer playlist. Perhaps the album’s most irresistible tune, “Light My Fire” is a quintessential communal singalong backed by cozy keyboards and a heartwarming chorus worthy of infinite bonfire renditions.
For most bands, this type of an album might signal a point of arrival, but for Mapache it feels more appropriate to deem it a celebration. Roscoe’s Dream not only champions everything that made them great to begin with, it amplifies it for all to hear throughout Los Angeles and beyond.