The Babe Rainbow – “California”

Now anyone who has followed the arc of Aussies The Babe Rainbow knows that the band has a penchant for sun glare psychedelia, the kind of songs that ripple just a bit with an easy breeze that cools off the bake of a late summer afternoon. One scan through the band’s latest, Changing Colours, lends plenty of moments to get sucked into their salt-scrubbed psych, yet there’s a real gem laying in wait with the band’s fist real crack at a California country psych. The rather knowingly named “California,” pairs verdant strums with a touch of Cosmic Americana that’s not usually settled into the sand in their hair. While the song’s probably not topping the band’s singles choices, its actually a nice standout for me among the percolating psych of the new LP, an ennui-laced gem found beach-combing their new material. Changing Colours is out now.