Yup, a band that goes by the name Sugar Candy Mountain is just as odd and trippy as you’d expect. But that’s part of the appeal of these Bay Area neo hippies. On their latest, Mystic Hits, they churn out a baker’s dozen of swirly guitars, vocal feedback and layers and layers of keyboards that sound like a mix between The Beatles in their LSD years and Tame Impala.
The album was recorded partially in Brazil (and the influences are subtle, but they are there if you listen a couple of times through), where Will Halsey was staying at the time, and completed when he returned to California, reconnected with bandmate Ash Reiter and a handful of friends. Despite the split up nature of the recording process, there is a strong cohesiveness to the songs on Mystic Hits.
At a time when the Flaming Lips, modern psychedelic pop’s most visible flag wavers have opted to spend their studio time hanging out with future pop culture footnote Miley Cyrus, Sugar Candy Mountain are more than ready to pick up that flag and keep the genre moving forward.
Sugar Candy Mountain – Mystic Hits/13 tracks/Royal Oakie/2014
