New-Ish Releases: Rose City Band

On their fifth LP, Sol Y Sombra, Rose City Band make a huge shift from their enduringly mellow cosmic American music...

No, I'm kidding. It's another reliable slab of gentle psychedelic country rock, a blend of the Gram Parsons/Grateful Dead/Beach Boys-informed-stylings of Beachwood Sparks and the early 70s Pink Floyd-inspired sunshine psych of Kingsbury Manx. And in the midst of a rainy winter and a country in collapse, what could be more welcome than music designed for a sunny summer afternoon chewing edibles on the front lawn?

The comfortable palate of the band doesn't mean it's dull, of course; the music varies just enough, from straight country rock ("Open Roads," "Rolling Gold"), melodic twangy pop (opener "Lights On The Way," "Radio Song," the perky "Seeds Of Light"), and slow dissolves to help you drift away (closer "The Walls," "Sunlight Daze"). It's all gorgeous, as usual.

Buy it on Bandcamp.