Amber Pop

As though preserved in amber, Real Life, the brand-new release from Los Angeles twin-brother duo Cayucas, captures and inhabits all those moments growing up that are both small and incredibly important: first love, first heartbreak and the early, geological tremors of sexuality.

Common fodder in pop music, to be sure, but when you’re 18, you live and die for this stuff.

You feel, on a cellular level, the euphoria turning to terror when, as Cayucas sing on the song “Jessica WJ,” a young boy scores a beautiful girl’s number, only to throw it away by accident.

“I’m just waiting for my real life to begin,” Zach Yudin sings on the song “Real Life,” “wishing I could push fast-forward.”

“I’ve said this before,” Yudin tells me over the phone from L.A. “I don’t like to write about the night of prom. I like to write about the night before, the little things that I remember that were special — a little left of center. Music is an escape. It’s not really realism. It’s escapism.”

Yudin and his brother Ben, who plays guitar, form the central songwriting core of Cayucas. The brothers grew up playing sports, but when they discovered music — something they were really good at, Zach says — there was no looking back.

Musically, Real Life is also captured in amber, but this time the color is sunshiny and buoyant. Yudin’s a big fan of mega-pop producers like Max Martin, he says. But there’s also plenty of — to again use his words — left-of-center, introverted Nordic pop like Miike Snow and Peter Bjorn and John.

Not long after age 18, most of us realize life isn’t always about the moments Cayucas sing about, that the strawberries of youth give way to other delights.

Nevertheless, we sometimes find ourselves missing even the painful experiences, as Yubin does when he sings “dreaming of a girl I used to know” in the song “Girl.”

We miss those times because rarely, if ever, do we feel so electric and alive.

Cayucas bring their Real Life Tour to Eugene, 8 pm Thursday, June 27, at Sessions Music Lounge; $12 advance, $15 door.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!