This is not nostalgia, but it does take the faithful listener to a different time and a different place. Trevor Beld Jimenez does the impossible. He is able to bring the past to today. Trevor’s debut solo album, I Like It Here, conjures images of the past and those sweet and simple pleasures we once all took for granted. The magic of his music is the ability to conjure up these emotions.

The scratchy, soothing white noise between stations as you turn the dial on the radio in your dad’s Trans Am. The taste of sea salt on your lips, wrapped in a blanket, happily fatigued after a long day catching waves. The sun setting over a hill as you sit, huddled with your family, admiring the view below. The feeling of finally landing a trick on a skateboard on the ramp in your backyard. For others, it is that daydream of having experienced all of this and more.

Born in Southern California in the 80s, raised on a steady diet AM radio Trevor absorbed it all, like a sponge. Add his uncle’s Bob Dylan songbook at his side,  at 12 years old he understood where he wanted to go and what he wanted to do.  Exploring the coasts, hiking the hills, and Little League soon gave into a full-time obsession of music. An obsession that wouldn’t just selfishly exist as someone looking for the fast track to stardom but rather a truly giving multi instrumentalist. An accomplished songwriter looking to enrich and relate to hearts and ears the world over.

If you’ve been paying any attention to the southern California music scene the last decade or so, you already know Trevor from his bands Tall Tales & Silver Linings and Parting Lines. He’s contributed to projects from the likes of Fruit Bats, Kacey Johansing, and DIOS; and plays a key role as co-writer and drummer for GospelbeacH.

 These friends and more return the favor and stop by to lend their talents to Trevor’s album - a golden oldies, classic California rock-and-roll-with-a-heart record. Clay Finch, Pearl Charles, Nelson Bragg, Bob Glaub, and other local legends make appearances in addition to Johansing, Eric D. Johnson, and Parting Lines’ other half Tim Ramsey. One friend who sadly couldn’t make it was Trevor’s good friend Neal Casal, who’d agreed to add his signature guitar touch to the album, but it wasn’t to be. Neal passed in the summer of 2019, but his spirit is tangible in the music.

 Trevor’s debut solo work, I Like It Here, is a classic Southern California rock record that weaves between guitar solo-driven power anthems, and softer rock ballads. Songs like “Get Ready to Fly” and “TRS” are bound to be danceable crowd-pleasers, while tracks like “I Believe in You” and “When Your Love Surrounds Me” showcase Trevor’s sensitivity and prowess as a wordsmith. “Saying Goodbye” is a beautiful tribute to Neal Casal. Trevor’s songs are infused with honey-colored melodies and old soul lyricism, inspiring hope in the hearts of listeners. Trevor believes in every word he’s singing - peace and true love, beauty, family, grace - and for a moment, the listener does too.

 I Like It Here was created while balancing being a husband and father, a worker, and band member; between transatlantic tours, global pandemics, and civil unrest, I Like It Here shines with unclouded optimism that true love will see us through.

But as the saying goes, ‘talking about music is like dancing about architecture’. Listen to the album, close your eyes and become engulfed into this world. But remember, this is not nostalgia. It is the soul of yesterday, today.