Santa Cruz musician Ryan Settles isn’t alone in starting a project or recording a new album in the pandemic; it was prime time for creativity and to be honest, there wasn’t much else we could do during that time. It was during that ill-fated era that he Far West was established, with his hazy surf-rock sound perfected by producer Ben Etter (Washed Out, Hazel English, Cut Copy).
While he hasn’t been active all that long ‘a to z’ is actually his eight release since 2020 and it’s one that probably had the longest journey yet, as Settles explains:
“I actually wrote this song a while ago and wasn’t sure how to take it from an acoustic song to a full band sound. After starting this latest project (Far West), I felt like I could possibly make it into something bigger and the sound of Far West wrapped around the song well. The song is about feeling uncertain in life and the people who are going to go through it with you no matter what obstacles get in the way.”
This boppy little indie-pop number won’t just get you from a to b in the day, it’ll get you through the whole damn alphabet. Every time we listen to it, we can’t help but tapping our feet and shifting around in our seats, enticed by the bouncy drums and elastic strings. Radiating even more positivity, Settle’s cheerful and dreamy vocal swim beneath a washed-out haze of production that transports us to laidback California beaches where this sounds seems most at home.
Move through your day listening to ‘a to z’ and others in our Outsiders Club playlist.
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