It’s the Numbers’ second album of heartfelt and bittersweet jangle twang in less than a year. Seemingly out of the blue, Bomp!/Turnaround Records released their Mad Day Out last July and now Kool Kat Musik has surprised us with My Beautiful Distance here in June. Their compositions are sturdy and rugged vehicles that transport their built-in melodies, while their harmonies take them over the San Gabriel mountain tops. The songs frequently take the rural route, going further into the heartland and racking up more country miles this time around.
“Like Being Alone” continues the tradition of connecting the vintage sound & ethos of Central California to the racetrack sprawl of Los Angeles. The song barrels through on Terry Tutor’s piano playing. “Watch It Go” features sundown harmonies ramping up Buffalo Springfield’s Sunset Strip to America’s Ventura Highway. One wonders if “Watch It Go” is about a sunset or a lament for the backsliding of our society or both. To top things off, Greg Krueger provides a captivating slide guitar solo. Elvis-infused vocals circa “Suspicious Minds” and the larger than life ethos of Waylon Jennings cross paths on “I Remember Everything.” The Numbers’ current sound is also evocative of the brief phase in the mid to late ‘80s when AOR radio, in some markets, started playing select bolo-tied roots rock acts like Lone Justice and the Long Ryders, Michael Penn was briefly a critical and commercial success, Gene Clark would appear at McCabe’s and the Palomino and Peter Case continued on the outskirts as a troubadour he is and was before the Nerves and Plimsouls.
“Love and Doubt” is the return of the indelible and perfect pop song. It turns up like the 1 or 2 ultra-catchy gems heard prospecting through a videotaped episode of 120 Minutes-the day after setting the timer on the VCR. Its lilting melody brings to mind “Heavenly Pop Hit” by the Chills or the Bluetones’ “Slight Return.” The middle stretch of the album attests to their skilled musicianship with Beach Boys harmonies coming to shore on “Giving up the Ghost” and an exemplary slide guitar solo on “A World That Won’t Turn to Me.” They are not afraid to express some bitterness on the Roy Orbison-esque title track of “My Beautiful Distance.” The melodramatic ballad presents a protagonist remaining steadfast, hopeful and determined to make it through the school of hard knocks. “What Happened?” sounds like Del Shannon backed by the Smithereens sippin’ on Country Time Lemonade with their twangy guitars seemingly tuned down a half step. “Why Should I Care” is evocative of the Hollies, namely their classic “I Can’t Let Go,” while "Incidentally" (The Least I Can Do) echoes the ‘65 Byrds with its command of chordal harmonies and a majestic 12-string solo.
Their lyrics seem open to interpretation, but in combination with the music the Numbers are able to aptly express the swirling emotional undercurrents amidst the turbulence and trials of life. One of the album’s major themes is handling the disappointing and disjointed aspects of life along with temporarily transcending its quotidian aspects with harmonious music. There is something comforting in the familiar and consistent sound of the Numbers in these trying times and they do it remarkably well. In the course of two albums here in the mid-20s, they have carved out their own distinctive sound intertwining jangle and twang. All of this should not come as a surprise given their foundatonal debut Anthology '64-'67 was so immediate in 1983 and continues to hold up so well today.
