Sic Alps

Strings and piano may not be foremost in the minds of Sic Alps' fans when they think of the band's rough-hewn psychedelia, but Sic Alps works those instruments into a few songs so naturally you'd think that the group had always had a little baroque blood. Sic Alps are definitely honing their late-'60s psychedelia into works that are more tangible and cohesive, but they're also adding textures and sounds that only help color and define their core vision, and it's a great step forward. The languorous guitar riff on "God Bless Her, I Miss Her" could have come from a Velvet Underground tape scrap, and the Syd Barrett–isms in the wobbling, acoustic "Wake Up It's Over II" are enchanting. "Lazee Son" feels like a Haight Street stoop hoedown on a foggy 1969 Sunday afternoon. But those things are almost to be expected from Sic Alps (and we won't shortchange the group; the vintage psych vibe here is awesome). But the Beatles-esque strings on "Glyphs," the piano-and-beach atmospherics of "See You on the Slopes," and the baroque-pop whisper of "Rock Races" are the real eyebrow-raisers here. Sic Alps is a grand, masterfully balanced step in the band's evolution.