California dream pop collective
the Society of Rockets -- formerly known as
Shimmer Kids Underpop Association -- may sound like a hobo version of
Spiritualized, but their reverb-drenched odes to loves both won and lost never descend into isolationist art rock excess; rather they wait patiently for the cheap bottle of whiskey to return, thankful that they're among friends -- however few.
Sunset Homes is an apt title for their debut, as each track unfolds slowly, languishing in the cradle of its sonic peaks and valleys without a care for the rest of the world. Sustained organs give way to bright accordions while heavily-delayed guitars swirl around Joshua Babcock's soft vocals on the delicate and lonesome opener, "O, Sing Transformer." It's a winning formula that repeats itself throughout the record's entirety, so when the band picks up some much needed speed on the rollicking "Too Many Thorns in Your Bed of Roses" -- complete with Theremin -- it's like a tornado ripping the roof off of a church luncheon.
Sunset Homes is part Americana, part chamber pop and all corn silo atmosphere, and its charms, though often buried beneath a mountain of analogue echo, are blissfully un-pretentious, sweetly understated and many.