When Sacramento seminal noise punkers Mayyors broke up, drummer Julian Elorduy picked up a guitar to write woe-be-gone songs that would never have fit into a Mayyors set. He formed Fine Steps with the help of a few Ganglians and other players from the Sacramento scene, but beyond a few slick licks that are reflective of the Ganglians' style, this is a collection belonging purely to Elorduy.
His voice settles somewhere between Jonathan Richman and Stephin Merritt, but he sings it like he hears Sam Cooke in his head. Boy's Co. has an indie-pop sound long associated with Flying Nun and Slumberland. With small hints of protest, references to flowers in one's hair, and plenty of salty breeziness, Boy's Co. is a Bay Area record through and through, despite being recorded with Robbie Moncrief in his Sacramento space. Elorduy recently moved to Oakland, but his record, which has been completed for nearly a year, sounds as though he's been there in his mind and heart all along. “The Heat” is a fitting dedication to the summer climate in the Central Valley and by “Patty Smith Hearst”, Elorduy is shoreline with a cool breeze in his hair and sending best wishes to his sisters and brothers to be as happy and as free as he feels.
The plight of Sacramento is that all our talent moves away, usually to San Francisco. While it's a frustrating truth, Boy's Co. says au revoire with such charm it hurts a little less to watch a hand waving out the side of a '73 Ford LTD as Elorduy drives towards the setting sun.
Fine Steps' Boy's Co. is available here for vinyl purchase.
