Giant Skyflower Band

The patron saint of San Francisco psych pop, the Skygreen Leopards' singer/guitarist Glenn Donaldson has teamed up with fellow Skygreen-er bassist Shayde Sartin to record an album of bummer folk under the guise of the Giant Skyflower Band. Blood of the Sunworm is their debut release, and it is the sound of the twosome holed up at home, cutting mellow acoustic weed gems to beautifully damaged analog. From the hazy instrumental lullaby of "Rainbows and Dreams (with Worms Singing)" to the shambolic pop boozer "Oh Mary Green," the songs are hinged together with sitar bumblings and warm tambura drones below Donaldson's breathy, high whispers. Sitar is actually spread liberally throughout, perfectly intertwined with the ramshackle guitar strums, Sartin's fuzzed out bass, and a brokedown drumkit. The entire album has a falling down, drippingly melancholic feel — a sort of late night, smoked introspection — that is at the same time imbibed with a fragmented sense of hope, making Blood of the Sunworm both a depressive and highly euphoric listen. Skygreen Leopards' brilliant 2006 release, Disciples of California, is a tough one to top, but this record is damn near its equal. Blood's songs were born from the leftover dust of Syd Barrett and Skip Spence, chanted by candlelight on a soft winter's night. —Mike Munz