Bookends hail from Santa Cruz, where the wind blows strong off the ocean and the summer days make me want to evacuate the big city. Driving down Route 1 from San Francisco, you pass through Pacifica, then wind your way through mountainous cliffs overlooking the sea and you get this sense of there being more, just beyond your reach. It's heartening and can bring your whole body and mind a sense of relief that I truly haven't felt elsewhere. When listening to the Bookends, especially their new album A Hook For Every Fish In the Sea, it's the same feeling. This is folk, without the punk. Well, mostly. A mixture of guitars, violin and drums, the arrangements vary from sparse, airy cliffside poems to upbeat dance songs with a hint of Irish flavor and can wind back around to well thought out dirges. I'm very impressed by these guys, and would recommend their new CD from Fall Of The West Records.

Bookends - Whiskey and Wine Bookends - Songs About Hunger Bookends - Straight In Bookends - Give Up