The Western States Motel

For the past few days I’ve been trying to figure out how to start this post. Then I happened to catch Garden State playing on the tube tonight and I realized what I wanted to say first. I’ve found the song that should have been scored to those pivotal scenes in the film where the Shins can be heard.

That song is ‘Powerlines‘ by The Western States Motel.

The Western States Motel is the creation of L.A’s Carl Jordan. After playing with bands for a couple years he started writing his own instrumental songs, originally in mind to fit with a short film he’d conceptualized. The record seemed to develop out of this (with vocals) and is now available, released this year by Firebird Field Recordings.

As mentioned above, I hear some similarities to the Shins. As well, it could be a long-lost Beck record that took place between Odelay and Mutations. Or maybe even the Beta Band. Don’t you want to take another listen?

Here’s ‘The New E Blues‘.

The Western States Motel