Golden Daze – the Los Angeles-based duo of Ben Schwab and Jacob Loeb – seamlessly blend modern verses and ’60s-inspired vocal refrains on their latest single, “Never Comin’ Back.” It’s a surf-rock-meets-shoegaze marriage that effectively manages to straddle the line between mid-century nostalgia and contemporary innovation. Guitars soaked in reverb and distortion, alongside a driving bass line and a kick drum made for dancing, evoke the band’s nomenclature (“golden daze”) of a sunny day spent on the beach. The otherwise upbeat instrumentation belies the song’s lyrical tale of departure, and goes to show that parting need not always be something to mourn. Listen below, and keep an eye out for the band’s debut self-titled LP (arriving February 19 via Autumn Tone), which they’ll celebrate with a February 27 release show at Los Angeles’ Non Plus Ultra.
