St Ranger – Life Coach 8.3

                St Ranger is a good life coach. That much is clear. Each one of these songs sounds like something they’ve practiced in front of countless audiences across the Southwestern United States. From the feedback, they tweaked each song. I know this is exactly what they did, how they toured extensively before they released an album. Most bands generally state the album sounds better live, since they know how to make it sound a bit more organic. St Ranger reverses the process, touring first and releasing later. What that does is give ‘Life Coach’ an approachable, easily lovable, sunlit feel. 

                ‘It’s ‘Appening’ swallows the letter ‘H’. A ready acknowledgement of the wait (their last songs came out in March) it gives them a true identity. The obvious influence for the group is the carefully arranged pop of Grizzly Bear or a less bossa-nova obsessed Sea and Cake, yet there’s something else here. They introduce their own sun-soaked, summertime image into the mix. ‘Tranquilo’ has a huggable groove to it, taking it easy should just last forever, turning into an endless mantra. ‘Smoke/Soaked’ is by far my favorite on the entire album. Here is where they get the most dramatic, and the multiple sections come together beautifully, veering between the intricate and overly ornate. When this song lightly erupts at the end, it feels deserved. They earned it. 

                Each song radiates pure joy. This kind of detailed, yet carefree, music takes multiple tries before anybody can get it right. Clearly St Ranger has spent the past few months honing their craft both live and in the studio. I’m happy St Ranger put in so much time and effort into this fun, jubilant joyride of an album. Maybe someday they’ll come to the East coast. We need the sun.