Gorilla Manor was an absolute gem of an album when it was released in 2010 and almost immediately became a fixture during my final years of college. Everything about this album brings me back to those sunny days in Isla Vista, feeling the wind on your face as you biked past front yards littered with red solo cups and half-crushed Natty Light cans, still half hungover from the night before and in need of a pair of sunglasses and a strong coffee. It became the soundtrack for Isla Vista that has stuck with me for nearly 15 years due to the intensity of my emotions at the time, the close friendships that fully bloomed in those final years, and the fact that Local Natives create music that just simply fits the vibe of Isla Vista in every single way. The band’s soaring multi-pronged vocal harmonies, delicate instrumentation, and quirky impressionistic lyrics are custom-made for that moment of my life. They were the perfect band to come out at the perfect time. I’ll never forget driving down the coast to Beach Ballyhoo on the Santa Monica Pier to see As Tall As Lions and Circa Survive (what a lineup!) and listening to the entirety of Gorilla Manor on the way down. We were all singing along with every song at the top of our lungs, and when the a cappella part of “Sun Hands” came on we’d all get quiet for our friend Mark to take that part solo like he had a hundred times before. As the sun peeked through the drivers window and he uncorked a raw and passionate shout perfectly in time with the song, it literally felt like the most loving place in the entire world. To borrow a line from The Perks of Being A Wallflower, “And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.”
It’s forever burned into my brain. I still find myself transported to that place every time I hear that song. It feels as warm as it did all those years ago.
Standout Songs: “Sun Hands”, “Shape Shifter”, “Cards & Quarters”, “Who Knows Who Cares”, “Cubism Dream”, “Wide Eyes”
