Cape Weather - “Big Time”

SXSW 2020 - OEB Score: 8; Popularity Index: 5

Pairs Well With…Alvvays, Lana Del Rey, Snail Mail

Cape Weather is actually a good self-descriptor for the Californian’s sound, a breezy fusion of classic surf-pop and modern melancholy making up her 2019 debut EP. All four songs incorporate similar ingredients - slightly fuzzy guitar, soft doo-wop harmonies, and garage-pop melodies - striking a consistent tone that is both welcoming and true to herself. Cape Weather’s songwriting is natural, balancing cute tenderness and lovelorn nonchalance with studied ease. Some extra cinematic production on “Never Say” and “Orchestration” give Cape Weather a small dose of grandeur, underplayed even when realizing it is living in a hooky sing-a-long. Elevated through a dreamy air, Cape Weather avoids being too grounded in form, even escaping to a charming acoustic ditty “The Way I Feel Inside” to close out this tight introduction. (Kevin McStravick)