Grapthar's Daily Hive Music Feature: The Beach Boys - 'Friends'

Beach Boys post! I was listening to them all day while working and doing stuff around my place, so they're the obvious choice. Just in case anyone here is new to the band, The Beach Boys were formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, CA by 3 brothers, Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, a cousin of theirs Mike Love, and friend of the family Al Jardine. The group started out firmly in the pop music space, writing hit songs about girls, cars, surfing, and California, though even in the early days, they showed a penchant for super solid songwriting, particularly coming from Brian Wilson, who would slowly emerge as the sort of 'genius' creator behind the band's evolution. As rock and pop music changed, and the band got older, their music became more complex; they began experimenting in the studio, utilizing what was at the time cutting edge production and recording techniques, all of which culminated in some of the most groundbreaking and influential music from the '60s (and really in general). While their 1966 album Pet Sounds and the follow-up Smiley Smile are considered to have their most classic songs from this period, their 1968 album Friends has become a personal favorite of mine. I didn't discover this album until a few years back, and was blown away by it. While the production is very stripped down compared to those previous releases (it was recorded in Brian's home studio), the songwriting is more complex and out-there, though there are also just some solid, catchy songs like this one.