State Cows - Closed Doors And Open Shores (2025)

Japanese import, part of the Light Mellow Searches series

I've been a fan of State Cows for over a decade, so I'm surprised this is their first appearance on the blog (I'll promptly contact the proprietor about that oversight). Here's a little bit about the Swedish duo, taken from their website:

STATE COWS is one of very few modern yacht rock / westcoast / AOR bands that creates new original music. This project started out as a Steely Dan tribute called THE SECOND ARRANGEMENT. They soon transformed the Steely Dan tribute into the band STATE COWS and started writing an album of brand new yacht rock songs. Smooth guitar lines, half-time shuffles, funky bass lines, slick harmonies, real Fender Rhodes, tight horn sections and some California sunshine ... it's all in there!

So, yeah, it's derivative, but so very good and very smooth. Goes down easy. If you tire of the limited and questionable playlist on the yacht rock channel on SiriusXM, but still want a little Doobie Bounce in your life, this is just what the doctor ordered. The duo leans into the "yacht rock" nomenclature and musical vocabulary while creating neo-yacht music for the dad rock (or granddad rock) crowd. My only complaint is the sound is often over-produced, particularly in the odd treatment of the backing vocals. Overall, the songwriting on this album is much better than on their previous release, 2022's High And Dry.

I encourage you to sample some their stuff over at bandcamp: statecows.bandcamp.com.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: My pick for top tune is track 4, Marina Town, but the whole album is pleasure to hear. Lonely Road has a great flugelhorn solo; On And On is a wonderful instrumental duet featuring only bass and piano; and the chorus of Summer Cloud is gorgeous.

Bonus track: The Japanese CD came with a bonus track, a cover of The Beatles' Ticket To Ride. I had my doubts, but the clever, bouncy arrangement actually works.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None, but the sound sure takes me back to the '80s real quick.