Coconut Records, musician/actor Jason Schwartzman’s one-man band, released the second album Davy following the success of 2007’s Nighttiming.  Schwartzman started out as the drummer of the now disbanded Phantom Planet (which he references in the song “Drummer” with the lyrics “I was a drummer in a band that you’ve heard of..”).

After leaving Phantom Planet, he became more involved in the film industry.  Most recently Schwartzman has worked with director Wes Anderson, writing and starring in the film The Darjeeling Limited. If you know anything about the music in Wes Anderson films (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Royal Tenenbaums, etc), Coconut Records’s Davy would fit right in. 

In comparison to Nighttiming, this album draws more influence from The Beatles. With songs like “Any Fun”, “Saint Jerome”, and “The Summer”, I think Davy is the perfect feel-good summer album that people would adore. If you’ve ever heard the band Rooney (whose lead singer, Robert Schwartzman, happens to be the younger brother of Jason), you know exactly what I’m talking about by feel-good summer albums. It must run in the family.

This album is anything but lacking in the quirky lyrics, lighthearted fun, cute melodies that made Coconut Records popular. Coconut Records is full of melodic indie pop folk songs filled with acoustic guitars, tambourines, and music-box-like keyboard tunes. All of these songs have that sing-along quality that makes any music worthwhile.  This album will not disappoint you.