Baked

Extraas gauzy, sweet-as-honey-pie brand of psychedelic pop is influenced heavily by the orchestrated sound of Beatles ballads and the chamber pop intricacy of groups like the Idle Race and Left Banke. On their debut, Baked, the group make an impression through slightly devious means. They dont knock the listener over the head with shiny hooks or catchy choruses -- instead they sneak in sideways using texture and mood to capture hearts and minds. The tempos hover in the midrange level; the instrumentation is rich and relies on gentle pianos, strings, and vocal harmonies to fill in the space in autumnal hues; and singer Alix Lachiver sings in calmly melancholy fashion. Baked is an extremely peaceful and pleasant album with no sharp edges; it works like a balm on jangled nerves, distorted realities, and anxious feelings. Its the kind of record thats a perfect soundtrack for turning off cares and worries and floating downstream as the music makes everything alright. Within the steady flow of meditative sounds, there are some strong melodies that stick -- like the stately Petit Ami or A Flower and a Man, which sounds like a baby Rain Parade song -- and a couple tracks that up the tempo a little without breaking the bubble. Bad Dreams adds a little boost of indie pop energy and Strangers is a fine nugget of jangly folk-rock with a little Motown rhythmic underpinning. These tracks, plus the dramatic, 50s pop-inspired Darling Valentine, give a second dimension to the album and show that the band dont just sound good when they are wiping the sleep out of their eyes, but also when they are wide awake. Baked is a first step and Extraa are definitely a name to watch for fans of gentle psych-pop played with precision and care. ~ Tim Sendra