Born With Stripes (Bonus Track Version)

This four-piece from San Diego takes a laidback approach to its music that hides the real fury behind the existential woes of something as plainly sung as “Don’t Know Who We Are.” There’s a touch of Grateful Dead mellow in the vaguely island grooves of “Bloodhound.” But it’s just the blues happening as a slow jam. “Born With Stripes” kicks up the psychedelic twist like the earliest days of the Doors. “Kaleidoscope” is the powerful five-minute centerpiece where the group merges Buffalo Springfield, Gene Clark and the Blues Magoos into its own individual sound. “West Coast Raga” and the slightly more agitated “East Coast Raga” float towards Shocking Blue and every other band from the late ‘60s and early ‘70s that used a sitar and an organ to find a way out of Western pop, folk and blues. “New Blue Stockings” throws a great fuzzed-out guitar and Farfisa organ back in time. The bonus demo version of “Take You Up” is a worthy addition to an already fantastic album of retro nods and forward thinking.