Celestial Electric

If the not-too-distant future should produce a serious revival of '70s lite rock, the hip people of tomorrow may look back on 2011’s collaboration between AM and Shawn Lee as the seed of the soft revolution. The opening tune exudes acoustic-based funk (dig those deep, grooving beats) and some willowy singing that recalls the sun-flared songs of Bread. “Lonely Life” follows, with analog keyboard magic played over a marching beat; AM sings like Gerry Beckley from the band America before slipping into some sexy falsettos. Even the dub-inspired echo and repetitive rhythms of “Can’t Figure It Out” don’t diminish the song’s soft-rock vibes. “Dark into Light” has more in common with bands like Air and Stereolab, with its braiding of analog synths and modern, innovative production. But a stellar cover of Ozark Mountain Daredevils’ “Jackie Blue” keeps things sounding like bygone bellbottomed radio gold.