Yay! Records Night @ The Smell

When I drive through Oxnard, CA I think of many things, but one thing that would have never crossed my mind is a thriving indie and twee pop scene. There are quite a few bands just north of us, quietly making a name for themselves and existing in their own musical bio-dome where the rules, trends and fashion, that can weigh down many Los Angeles bands don’t apply.

Tonight a fine Oxnard based label called Yay! Records took over The Smell, and brought some surprisingly engrossing bands down an hour or so south of their home. Although, not extremely far away, at least without factoring travel time in traffic, it’s still a rare treat to get to see many of these great bands down in L.A.

First up was Maria, sadly they showed up Gun’s ‘N’ Roses-late to the show. They dutifully still set up all of their equipment, apologized and played us one song. The song was good, classic twee pop in the traditional sense, but there was a simplicity to their music that you usually don’t find in Los Angeles bands who actually attempt to write songs. I’ve seen many bands take a stab at naïve pop, or just bang on instruments they don’t know how to play, but it always feels so put on. I feel like Maria were playing exactly what came out when they pick up instruments, and sound very similar to the bands they listen to. They said their thanks and apologized again for only playing one song, and made way for the next band.

Sea Lions seemed to share at least 90% of Maria’s members, and presented a set that mixed equal parts indie, twee and garage pop. They were able to reproduce the 80’s twee sound in a meaningful way, enough to possibly fool an aficionado with a well placed track on a mix tape. Although an easy connection to make, their sound is reminiscent of Beat Happening, vocally and musically, specifically the more upbeat songs. Their jangle pop is catchy enough to win over the most stubborn music snob.

Catwalk made a big impression on the Saturday night Smell crowd, sounding something like a shoegaze influenced New Order. At other times their driving Jesus & Mary Chain garage pop charm got the crowd going as they ripped through a high energy set. Although a remarkably young band, Catwalk lead vocalist Nick Hessler brings a maturity and excitement that betrays his young face, with songwriting ability well beyond his years. Catwalk really stole the show, and is a great example of a new band that keeps pushing their boundaries to write excellent songs regardless of the style or genre. Keep an eye on Catwalk as they have the potential to become the band that one day puts Oxnard on the indie map.

—Michael Cameron