AMG Review of Good Morning Beautiful

Kenyon Hopkin
All Music Guide

Irving has such an affinity for '60s dreamy pop and its followers that the band could easily be a link from originators such as the Zombies to newcomers such as Beachwood Sparks. Not only that, "L-O-V-E" was co-produced by Andy Paley (Brian Wilson, Jonathan Richman), resulting in a garage-inspired swirl of rock. These five songwriters and singers from Los Angeles (the first band for each member) have assembled a worthy debut that reveals tons of influence from Elephant 6 bands (especially from Neutral Milk Hotel) but also possesses the chamber pop of Belle & Sebastian. "Turn of the Century" and "Did I Ever Tell You I'm in Love With Your Girlfriend" rejoice with glee and bouncy "ba ba bas." They're not quite Elephant 6 material, yet Irving doesn't quite fit into country psychedelia à la Beachwood Sparks either. Good Morning Beautiful falls somewhere in between, drawing from the best of both worlds.