Spine Hits

Rachel Fannan’s departure from the San Francisco psychedelic rock band Sleepy Sun is evident throughout their third studio album, <i>Spine Hits</i>—not because the band sounds empty without her, but because Brett Constantino takes on full singing duties, noticeably stepping up his game. The melodious “Stivey Pond” opens with his vocals seemingly inspired by the gravely growl of Howlin Rain frontman Ethan Miller. Even more melody radiates from the catchy “She Rex”: four minutes of '90s-flavored power pop disguised under sludgy guitar distortion and walls of wah-wah freakouts. The lilting “Siouxsie Blaqq” recalls moments from The Verve’s 1993 debut album, <i>A Storm in Heaven</i>, when the band still had long hair and indulged in astral space-rock jams. With “Creature,” Sleepy Sun veers furthest away from the altar of bygone Barbary Coast ballroom rock and flirts with early-'90s alt-rock. Similarly, “Martyr’s Mantra” sounds more inspired by The Cult and The Dandy Warhols than early psychedelia, but “Deep War” resonates with haunting, late '60s–style acid rock.