Cut of the Day: The Caps, "We Really Need to Get Away"

Listening to Portland-based rock band the Caps, I can't help but get nostalgic. Their catchy guitar melodies and stripped-down instrumentation reminds me of mid-'60s surf pop rock—a genre my uncle would always play on his old, dust-covered turntable during family gatherings. I automatically think of grainy camera footage of my mom and dad waving next to a barbecue, smiling and enjoying the simplicities of a different time.

Of course, all of this is pretty stupid, because I was born in 1988, and the whole grainy camera film thing was kind of obsolete by then. Plus, my family barbecues were more of a drunken-yelling-match-type thing than a serene-suburban love fest—think the Bundys from Married with Children rather than the Arnolds from the Wonder Years. But, the Caps' music makes me think back on times fondly, even if they weren't necessarily, which is nice.

One song off its new album Have a Blast! that's particularly warming is "We Really Need To Get Away." Lead singer Chris Worth's corny-but-sweet lyrics of love and time bounce gently over subtle guitar strums. Worth's voice reminds me of a less-hoarse and crazy sounding Randy Newman, which is basically all the good without the bad. The song's guitar intro and lyrical content also give off a slight Stylistics-sounding, early soul vibe that adds even more to the wistfulness—a throwback jam in the truest sense.

If you like what you hear, download or purchase the band's album at its Bandcamp and go see it perform a week from today, Sept. 21, at Backspace for the album release party.

WWeek 2015