Cayucas-August 3rd-Rock N Roll Hotel

By Jon Hersh

It’s hard not to think of Cayucas without immediately conjuring their exclamations: “Ehhhh! Ehhhh! Ehhhh!” they sing in “High School Lover”, “Ooohhhwaaa aahhh aahhh” someone far away bellows in “Dancing in the Blue Lagoon”, and the aforementioned “Ohhhweeeoohhh!” which arrives scattered throughout most of their first album but most prominently in their eponymous song. The cry is as much a call to arms as it is onomatopoeic of the sounds of the California Americana beach-town from which they hail (Santa Monica or so I’m told). Their lyrics tell stories not inappropriate for that location — falling in love, dancing with the confidence a southern Californian vibe can give you — but the band’s poetry lies in their yawp. I’m told their next album will feature only Mongolian throat singing (Editor’s note: apparently that’s not true upon confirming with their label).

It was a sweltery Monday night when we caught up with the band at Rock N Roll Hotel. The crowd was young, attractive, and full of more couples than I expected. (Or maybe there’s something about beach music that makes you want to cuddle up to a stranger.) For four laid back Californians, the group manages to replicate their album sound with a flawless exactness that still comes off as effortless. The band has a practiced tightness, and the baritone of singer Zach Yudin boomed through Rock N Roll Hotel’s sound system with an immediate presence. Zach flowed between acoustic guitar and keyboards, with only few sounds being sampled live by a keyboard running Ableton hidden by the drum kit.

The crowd equally welcomed songs from their first release, 2013’s “Bigfoot”, and its follow-up 2015’s “Dancing at the Blue Lagoon”. Their second album, despite its title, has moments which strike a more dour tone than its predecessor, hinting at a career trajectory like the Walkmen. “They can’t all be beach songs”, Zach retorted after playing “Champion”, one of the group’s slower songs. There’s some comfort in that. It’s perversely satisfying to know that even in paradise you have days which don’t go you way. And yet, sometimes there’s no escaping where you come from. Where Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers might be the world’s best bar band, Cayucas might be the best group of birkenstocked surfer dudes, who pick up their instruments poolside only to ride the waves once again.