Ray and Paul, Sun Room - 2/10/25 - Fresno, CA - Strummer's

2/10 - Fresno, CA

This was the first show of the year for me, and it was good one. Ray and Paul opened and I was pleasantly surprised by them. They're a couple brothers from the Bay putting out a throwback sound with a lot of guitar reverb that made me think of slow 1960s pop surf jams. Their music is easy on the ears with very pleasing chord progressions and really good grooves on the bass. At various times they reminded me of the soaring melodies of Young the Giant, the plaintive vocals of Two Gallants, and even a little bit of the Dead (the bass on one song was just the melody from Touch of Grey). They had good energy but seemed a little subdued, their connection to the music and to the crowd was more about vibing than overt displays of emotion.

Up next was Sun Room, which is a surf rock outfit from So Cal. They dressed like a punk band from London in the late 70s - think Sex Pistols or The Clash, and while they sounded a little punk, they were mostly reminiscent of Jet or Arctic Monkeys, but they also had a similar sound to Ray and Paul with guitar reverb and a 60s surf sound. The highlight of the night (aside from the Dead semi-cover) was their rendition of Fade Into You. It was a garage rock take on the sweet, beautiful, timeless early 90s anthem, originally by Mazzy Star, and it sounded incredible. I feel like they could release that as a single and potentially do alright with it.