The third in a trio of free ‘60s-styled AM pop suites

In 2008 this South Carolina band’s Freedom Wind so thoroughly evoked the Beach Boys golden age, that you’d wonder if their East Coast beach town of Charleston had somehow connected via a time and space portal to Los Angeles in 1965. More than just recreating the harmonies, instrumentation and arrangements, the band evoked Brian Wilson’s ethos in music, words and emotional tone. It remains a jaw-dropping achievement from start to finish. Four years later, in February of 2012, the band will return with their second album, expanding their exploration of 1960s sounds to the broad sweep of mid-decade AM radio hits, encompassing everything from the sophisticated writing of Burt Bacharach to the Latin-tinged schmaltz of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.

In anticipation of the forthcoming album, which will be mixed by Beach Boys associate Mark Linett, the band is releasing a trio of free EPs, each featuring a non-LP cover song and two pre-Linett mixes of album tracks. The California and Carolinian Suites, released in October and November, included covers of Burt Bacharach’s “Walk on By” and the Classic IV’s “Stormy,” alongside two pre-release album tracks each. This third and last suite includes a cover of Vanity Faire’s “Hitchin’ a Ride,” with a bit of gas added to the original’s chugging rhythm and the signature recorder hook moved to keyboard. The EP’s original tunes include the bubblegum soul “Anticipatin’” and the breezy, Bacharach-ian “Run, Run, Run.” You can stream the tracks below, or download the EP for free from Amazon!  [©2012 hyperbolium dot com]

Download The Carolinian Suite for Free!
Download The Californian Suite for Free!
Download The New Yorker Suite for Free!
The Explorers Club’s MySpace Page

Hitchin’ a Ride

Anticipatin’

Run, Run, Run