Stone Darling - "Angeline"

I probably throw around the term "timeless" much too often on these pages. It's a fact, but one born of my well-intentioned desire to seek out and share music that's built to last: songs that don't just belong in any one particular place or time. Against the sea of seemingly endless incoming sample-based and reverb-cloaked fads and trends, the straightforward and classic combo of guitars, drums and vocals can make for a surprisingly refreshing alternative—a truth especially apparent when the music is by Los Angeles quartet Stone Darling.

The group may not be reinventing rock and roll, but they are making a hell of a nice splash with their crisp harmony-filled vocal delivery, fuzzy guitars, and rollicking drum kit. And yes, this music is entirely timeless: born without a sell-by date, songs like "All I Wanna Do" and "Angeline" could be a freshly dusted-off treasure found in your baby boomer parent's vinyl collection or the newest addition to your iTunes library. Either way, it's damn good music. They even outshine Sleigh Bells' "Rill Rill" with a proper cover of the Funkadelic classic, "Can You Get To That."

Below, take a listen to the standout track "Angeline," which nods to the familiar chime of Shuggie Otis's "Strawberry Letter 23" and the sprawling vocal arrangements that made Laurel Canyon so famous.



Stone Darling - "Can You Get To That" (Funkadelic cover)
Stone Darling - "All I Wanna Do"