The members of Admiral Radley have known each other forever. Jason Lytle and Aaron Burtch were part of the indie-rock band Grandaddy while Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray were part of Earlimart. Hailing from the same town in California led the two bands to bond over similar styles of music. Talk of bridging the two bands began swirling last year and the four members decided to temporarily move away from their prior projects to focus on the collaboration.
The group released its solid, fun-spirited debut album, I Heart California, earlier this year. In this interview, Lytle reveals that the title track is light-hearted, but realistic compared to the dreamy idealization that often characterizes songs about "The Golden State."
Here is the playlist:
| Beck | Nobody's Fault But My Own | Mutations |
| Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3 | Resolution | Northern Aggression |
| Spoon | The Beast & Dragon, Adored | Gimme Fiction |
| Arcade Fire | The Suburbs | The Suburbs |
| Admiral Radley | I Heart California | Recorded Live for the World Cafe |
| Admiral Radley | The Thread | Recorded Live for the World Cafe |
| Admiral Radley | Ghosts of Syllables | Recorded Live for the World Cafe |
| John Lennon | Number Nine Dream | The J.L. Collection |
| Elliot Smith | Because | American Beauty Soundtrack |
| Girls | Heartbreaker | Broken Dreams Club EP |
| Big Star | The Ballad of El-Goodo | Keep an Eye on the Sky |
| Annie Lennox | Train in Vain | Medusa |
| Adele | Rolling In The Deep | 21 |
| Buddy Miles | Them Changes | Them Changes |
| Local Natives | Sun Hands | Gorilla Manor |
| Aimee Mann | That's Just What You Are | I'm With Stupid |
| Menomena | Queen Black Acid | Mines |
| King Crimson | Matte Kudasai | Discipline |
| Vampire Weekend | Horchata | Contra |
| Fran Healey | Sing Me to Sleep | Wreckorder |
| Psychedelic Furs | The Ghost in You | All This and Nothing |
| One Eskimo | Kandi | One Eskimo |
| Alison Krauss | Oh Atlanta | Now That I've Found You: A Collection |
| Sharon Van Etten | One Day | Epic |