Mystic Braves, Plastic Cactus, Souvenir Driver
Recommended
Torch-bearing ’60s psych-pop crew Mystic Braves wear their paisley hearts on their sleeves. The Echo Park band’s nods to jangly, guitar-forward songcraft are hardly veiled endeavors, as heard on each of their four studio records, including the most recent, The Great Unknown. Time travel to the Age of Aquarius with groovy tunes like “Shades of Gray,” or “To Myself,” the scorching, 12-string-punctuated opener from 2015’s Days of Yesteryear. It’s a bit of reinventing the wheel, but it’s a great listen for Kinks/Seeds diehards in need of a contemporary fix. And with local support from Plastic Cactus and Souvenir Driver, this is an enticing weekend opener.
by Ryan J. Prado