On Grids (the follow-up to 2008's Secret Geographies), Norse Horse's Ryan Beal deftly blends rich guitar tones and lush arrangements with a certain air of golden vibrance unique only to Southern California.

On the surface, Beal's concoction can be immediately interpreted as candy-coated and fun-filled, but a further examination of the lyrical content reveals a range of emotions and revelations both optimistic and visceral.

With Grids, Beal has fashioned his Norse Horse into a positively energized beacon of life -- an emergent music that is brilliantly cultivated with a sound neither bound by genre nor geographical realm.