PACIFIC DUST
Album Review

San Francisco band's follow-up to 2007's Kiss the Crystal Flake.

There was a time - five years into their career, when they signed to Rick Rubin's American label and made two fine mid-90's albums - when it seemed The Mother Hips might make it big. Or biggish, like Wilco, say, a band with whom they share great musicianship, a flair for Americana and classic rock and the knack for crafting a good song. But it wasn't to be. This is their fourth indie album in the past dozen years, and I've not stopped playing it: picture Big Star and Golden Smog driving along a beach road in California and into the sunset. Some songs are mellow, with classic Californial pop-rock harmonies (One Way Out; All In Favor), others rock (White Falcon Fuzz), but all are impressive, with their catchy melodies and often unexpected lyrics sung in frontman-writer Tim Bluhm's relaxed, engaging voice. 4 Stars. - Sylvie Simmons