For Iowans toughing freezing temperatures and daily snow showers, the sound of the ocean and summer is a distant dream. Look to The Beach Boys for hope when they catch wave to Stephen’s Auditorium this May. That is, if you can stomach Mike Love at the helm.

Playing 150 shows a year, the current touring lineup of The Beach Boys features two key members from the mega popular surf-pop group’s prime. Along with Bruce Johnston, who joined The Beach Boys in the mid-60s when band mastermind Brian Wilson quit touring, co-founding member Mike Love fronts the purely nostalgic act as the only original member. Love received exclusive license to tour under “The Beach Boys” name following the death of Carl Wilson.

Despite co-writing many of the band’s most recognizable hits, such as “Good Vibrations,” “Fun, Fun, Fun” and “California Girls,” Love holds a controversial role in The Beach Boy’s lore.

“For those who believe that Brian walks on water, I will always be the Antichrist,” said Love in his memoir “Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy.” In the memoir, Love asserts himself to be as significant to the band’s importance as his cousin, Brian Wilson; Love chalks up Wilson’s oft-given “genius” title to a publicity campaign.

Love has engaged in several legal battles with Brian Wilson, winning song writing credits to 35 of The Beach Boys’ hits and settling out of court for a defamation case over claims Wilson made in his own memoir.

Love lost a lawsuit over a promotional CD Wilson published for free of “Smile,” his re-recorded version of one of The Beach Boys most celebrated works. Love claimed it cost him millions of dollars, damaging his reputation. The lawsuit was dismissed on the ground that it was without merit.

The Beach Boys relentless touring schedule is motivated by “my nourishment and my revenge” for lost royalties, Love said in his memoir. This may explain why he excluded Wilson from the touring lineup after The Beach Boys’ 2012 reunion, despite Wilson expressing heavy interest in continuing performing.

Public opinion of Love first soured following many reports of his distaste of The Beach Boys’ evolution into the psychedelic, experimental and ambitious sound championed creatively by Wilson.

The Beach Boys’ early work can be simply characterized lyrically by cars, girls, and of course, surfing. “Pet Sounds,” the group’s magnum opus — scarcely represented in Love’s set-list with The Beach Boys — set them apart from their hip, light-hearted beginnings with masterfully-nuanced production and compelling song-writing, razor sharp with emotions cutting deep to the bone.

The culmination of this occurred in the unfinished “Smile,” equally as unrepresented by Love’s set-list with The Beach Boys, an album that both celebrates and deepens the possibilities of American pop music.  

The Beach Boys struggled to translate the complexity of their sound effectively to their live performances during this artistic period.

Based on recent performances, Mike Love and The Beach Boys’ set-list will consist of many covers, Mike Love’s solo work and the band’s more traditional pop hits.

For fans of The Beach Boys’ early pop tunes and Mike Love’s baritone spot in their five-part harmonic collection, ride a wave of unbridled nostalgia to Stephen’s Auditorium. For those wishing to catch a true glimpse of the sound which immortalized The Beach Boys, the endless bummer of winter continues this spring.