True West lives up to their name, offering fans plenty of California-friendly pop, but drenched in enough chaotic feedback to also make the group cutting edge. Credited with helping to start the ’60s pop-meets-post-punk aesthetic that marked the early ’80s Paisley Underground scene, True West formed at the turn of that decade, its core members being singer Gavin Blair and guitarists Richard McGrath and Russ Tolman. Tolman, along with Dream Syndicate’s Steve Wynn, produced their self-titled EP in 1983. Before long, the group was releasing underground hits like HOLLYWOOD HOLIDAY and the DRIFTERS, and opening for R.E.M.’s FABLES OF THE RECONSTRUCTION TOUR. But after a countryish turn with HAND OF FATE, the band called it quits in 1987, although they reunite for the odd festival gig.