Coastal Remedy

This full-length is a follow-up to the Indiana, Pa.-based band's self-titled debut, which came out two years ago. My quibble with the debut was that it was all over the place; this one shows the four-piece spent time honing its material and maturing. Each song follows from the last, and Coastal Remedy has found its sound: somewhere between singer-songwriter pop, grunge and late-'90s emo-core. Acoustic guitar underlies much of the material, but most of it has a loud, rock-band finish. Even the odd instrumental finds its place in the larger landscape of the album. At just shy of an hour total, it might be a bit much to digest as one album — the inherent risk is that even fans won't often make it to track 14, if anyone still listens to an album through these days — but it's conceptual and well-planned regardless. - Andy Mulkerin of the Pittsburgh City Paper

The little town of Indiana has earned a regional reputation for its bars, music scene and collegiate “party school.”

And if there’s going to be a soundtrack made for the things happening up that way, it’d be remiss if it didn’t include some tracks from Coastal Remedy.

This group sounds at times like Dave Matthews and John Mayer jamming with members of Incubus and A Perfect Circle. “To the World” includes a diverse selection of sounds covering a wide range of genres and approaches.

You get the sense that there’s a truly collaborative spirit in their jam space, allowing for some dynamic and intriguing songs to blossom. The sublime play between guitars both acoustic and electric in songs including “The River” really helps this group stand out from many other “alt” acts.

Coastal Remedy is definitely one of the most promising original western Pennsylvania bands I’ve heard in a while. Remember their name. - Bruce Siwy

Epilogue
Opening acts...for the sake of all parties involved we’ll skip The Lamp Shades. Coastal Remedy was just that, a remedy to the mess that was The Lamp Shades, drinking PBR pounders on stage for a 30-minute set might not be a good idea.

Coastal Remedy (pics) is a mix of good music with a stage presence. They brought Tim Wheeler up from the green room to watch. That’s when you know you have brought the goods. Look for the band to slowly make its way up the local circuit. And look in the future for Swerve to feature the band. - Swerve Magazine