Set to a delicate tempo of acoustic guitar plucking, Bob Sumner glistens on his instant country classic, “California.” Sumner picks up where he left off on 2019 debut, “Wasted Love Songs,” bringing spacious arrangements and artistic twinklings of melodica and electric guitar to the fold. The track is paired with a lighthearted music video, where we see the charismatic and fun loving Canadian songsmith shine amongst his comrades.
“California is a song I came by honestly. My mom and her family are from Southern California. All of our vacations were down there. My Grandparents lived minutes from Disneyland. We’d watch the fireworks from their front yard every night. We’d drive the 45 minutes to the beaches to boogie board, Laguna, Newport, Huntington. The California girls, the beach bums, it was all so cool. We’d eat Carl’s Jr. cheeseburgers or Taco Bell as we drove the busy freeways by the Hollywood sign. The smell of the rare rainfall on the warm pavement, it is all so powerfully nostalgic. My dad would favor the Latino radio stations which is maybe why we ended up with Mexican flavored accordion with nods to Flaco Jiminez on the song. “I often find myself staring out my window on a grey rainy Vancouver day. My mind wanders down the I5 and my heart yearns for the sights, sounds and smells of California in all of its vast glory.” In the chorus of the song Sumner sings “And he said California, here I come. Oh I’m comin’ for ya. Adios Vancouver I’m gone.”
