The music that California’s The Skygreen Leopards make is like a warm breeze – it’s refreshing but also comforting and full of familiar sounds, all at once. Their latest album, “Family Crimes” infuses even more pop melody into the band’s sound. Landing somewhere between folk, psych, and pop rock, the addition of more pop song structures serves them well. This album has fourteen songs on it, which is a bigger release by any bands’ standards, but each song is short and sweet. Not one tops over two minutes long, small little bites of songs that drag on too long. Psych rock is known for its ability to sprawl, with never ending instrumental interludes or multiple bridges. But each of these songs is simple – accomplishes what it needs to do and ends on time. The lyrics weave earnest love stories and stories about growing up and getting by. The vocals are tinged with a soft lisp and seem to stand a step away, not too harsh. Every song has an upbeat acoustic guitar background overlaid with warm electric guitar, occasionally interrupted by mystical psychedelic sound effects or simple keyboard. There are lots of call and response vocals and light harmonies. This all comes together to create a mellow music experience that seems most fit for a peaceful California evening.

The album is out now on Woodsist, a label that consistently puts out quite a bit of this brand of perfect folk psych-pop.