Your favorite Beach Boys soundalike group?

[shelter]

Lately I've been checking out some bands that tried to copy the early Beach Boys sound... The Sunrays, Boys Next Door, Ronnie & The Daytonas, The Fantastic Baggies, The First Class... Most of them sound pretty bland and uninspired most of the time, but there definately are some gems to be found here and there... What are the best soundalikes to check out?

[Alex]

The Ripchords-Bruce sings backup on Hey Little Cobra
Then of course there's always Jan and Dean.


Also check out The Thrills, The Explorer's Club, The Flaming Lips, and The High Llamas for BB and Wilson inspired (primarily Pet Sounds and SMiLE) modern bands.

[matt-zeus]

Not that they are a soundalike but very similar in some ways - The Four Seasons, love Frankies falsetto and there's stacks of great pop songs.

[Alex]

Not that they are a soundalike but very similar in some ways - The Four Seasons, love Frankies falsetto and there's stacks of great pop songs.

Brian challenged them to a fight at the end of Surfer's Rule (Four Seasons you better believe it) and even sings Valli's falsetto line from Walk Like A Man, and I actually think Brian's version sounds better, or at least smoother and less nasal.

[8o8o]

More modern day bands/artists (besides the ones mentioned above) that have listened to The Beach Boys (post 1966) more than once:

The Besnard Lakes
Panda Bear
Caribou
The Apples In Stereo

[pixletwin]

Apples In Stereo and The Wiggles (yes the Wiggles).

[donald]

First time I heard Apples in Stereo it sounded like the classic Byrds lineup....of course that was just the one song....but much like the Mints and other E6 bands, there is a certain sound there.


How about the Modern Folk Quartet or the Association?

[Aegir]

All of Bruce's pre-BB bands. I don't get it, he wrote such great Beach Boys soundalike music until he joined the group, then he started writing things like Disney Girls and Endless Harmony. Not that I dislike those songs, but it always puzzles me.

[Pretty Funky]

Brian Wilson band.
Mike and Bruce Show are ok I hear.

[Loaf]

Yes, Panda Bear, Panda Bear, Panda Bear, Panda Bear, Panda Bear, Panda Bear!!!

And of course Animal Collective sound like they all have Smile bootlegs in their possession.

Panda Bear's song "Bros" (as in brothers, not the 80s boy band) sounds like Phil Spector trying to imitate Brian Wilson. The best song of 2007 by a mile.

[8o8o]

I forgot to mention Simian, their first album "Chemistry Is What We Are" in particular (from 2001). "One Dimension" was a minor (radio) hit. Very nice as well.   

And The Bees!! How could I forget The Bees?

[Alex]

I forgot to mention Simian, their first album "Chemistry Is What We Are" in particular (from 2001). "One Dimension" was a minor (radio) hit. Very nice as well.   

And The Bees!! How could I forget The Bees?

Is that the same Simian that gave way to 2 of its former members forming the techno act Simian Mobile Disco?

I think The Bees are called A Band of Bees over here in the states.

[8o8o]

I forgot to mention Simian, their first album "Chemistry Is What We Are" in particular (from 2001). "One Dimension" was a minor (radio) hit. Very nice as well.   

And The Bees!! How could I forget The Bees?

Is that the same Simian that gave way to 2 of its former members forming the techno act Simian Mobile Disco?

I think The Bees are called A Band of Bees over here in the states.

Yes, that's the same Simian. They split up in 2005, and two members formed Simian Mobile Disco. One of them, James Ford, (co)-produced the last Arctic Monkeys album.

And yes, The Bees are called A Band Of Bees in the US.

[holeypeacoat]

i gotta give some props to The Explorers Club as well.  I saw them this weekend in Nashville and they were super BB influenced...to the point of stupid almost.  But if you put that aside and just listen it's pretty awesome. 

http://www.myspace.com/explorersclub

hp

[Chris Brown]

i gotta give some props to The Explorers Club as well.  I saw them this weekend in Nashville and they were super BB influenced...to the point of stupid almost.  But if you put that aside and just listen it's pretty awesome. 

http://www.myspace.com/explorersclub

hp

Wow yeah they are really good...definitely no mistaking the influence, but they pull it off quite well!

[zonk]

To find more sound-alikes, all you have to do is a Google Blog search for Brian Wilson or Beach Boys. They are being name-checked left and right, especially since SMiLE '04 came out. Plus every other new band, especially if they sing in harmony, gets compared to the BB's in review articles. It's actually starting to get a bit silly.
 

[roll plymouth rock]

Lately I've been checking out some bands that tried to copy the early Beach Boys sound... The Sunrays, Boys Next Door, Ronnie & The Daytonas, The Fantastic Baggies, The First Class... Most of them sound pretty bland and uninspired most of the time, but there definately are some gems to be found here and there... What are the best soundalikes to check out?

Early Beach Boys sound, hey? You should check out a song called 'Desert Drive' that came out a few years ago. It really has that early BB feel and was written by some guy named Brian Wilson.

[roll plymouth rock]

I also love the two PF Sloan songs Tell 'Em I'm Surfin' and Summer Means Fun. I Live For The Sun ain't bad either

[brother john]

The Baggies were Fantastic, I think... T'EIS' and SMF are both GREAT tracks. I have a whole album of theirs somewhere...

Here's a question: who are your favourite BB tribute bands?

[Alex]

The Baggies were Fantastic, I think... T'EIS' and SMF are both GREAT tracks. I have a whole album of theirs somewhere...

Here's a question: who are your favourite BB tribute bands?

Though they're technically not a tribute band, Adam Marsland's Chaos Band on their Dennis and Carl album.
The Fendertones also seem pretty good, or at least what they've put up on youtube is great.

[JimC1702]

The Baggies were Fantastic, I think... T'EIS' and SMF are both GREAT tracks. I have a whole album of theirs somewhere...

Here's a question: who are your favourite BB tribute bands?

Papa Doo Run Run were great on "The California Project" CD from Telarc.

[Aegir]

Wow, the Explorer's Club is really Beach Boys-esque. "Last Kiss" is a big ripoff of "I Do" and the backing vocals in "Do You Love Me" were lifted straight from "It's OK".

[Loaf]

I have a 3-track single of BB-soundalikes from the Grace of My Heart film. The lead track is Dinosaur Jr's 'Take a Run at the Sun.'

Each of the 3 songs is from a different BB-era: Sun&Fun, Smile, post-Smile. I don't have it with me right now, but there's the Smile-esque track is about a Pickle. These were some guys who knew their BB history way back in the mid-90s, before the more recent press coverage and elevation of Pet Sounds to one of the perennial top10s.

[pmugghc]

Listen to  'My World Fell Down' by Sagitarius, it's very good and BB like!

[Roger Ryan]

Listen to  'My World Fell Down' by Sagitarius, it's very good and BB like!

I believe this was the track that started Brian thinking that someone was listening to his SMiLE sessions and ripping him off! Given that Bruce is a featured vocalist on the song, that may have been the case.