The Sufis keep their refreshing and frisky psychedelia alive on this new release, after a long and quiet break from 2013’s Inventions and an eponymous debut album in 2012. In After Hours, they’ve traded out much of that signature take on Byrds-ian 60’s jangle pop and assorted flower power plunderphonics for some sweet analog synths, crunchier compression and melodicism a few shades darker than the past.
Calvin LaPorte’s welcoming, breathy tenor works wonders, especially on especially sticky tracks like the jaunty “Anymore” and “It’s Hard.” The Sufis display some colorful adventurousness on cuts like “All Knowing (71)”, an instantly grabby nugget of slacker soul and shimmery guitar work. The best moments on After Hours, however, invoke some strange lovechild of Kevin Ayers’ soft prog (“Made Me Leave”) and Dick Van Dyke’s whimsy (“Till I Get Home”). A dusky, resplendent gem.
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