Pitchfork

Picture this: skygreen-hued leopards walking the West Coast in plain robes and Jesus sandals. Ridiculous, but not far off from the image brought to mind by the title of the Skygreen Leopards' latest full-length, Disciples of California. While they don't have 12 members (yet-- but you know how these folk collectives get), they do have a gospel to preach, and that's the gospel of good vibes.

Disciples drops via Jagjaguwar on October 24, and is referred to as a "friends & family" album in a press release, a nod to the disc's communal recording process-- which took place in a new studio with the new Skyband (drummer Jasmyn Wong and bassist Shayde Sartin).

Still not buying the fraternity angle? The band was all about brotherhood this time around: the Leopards even took modern dance lessons from the Lindner School of Ballet's Vaslav Treacy to master discipline and pulse. Someday they will be bigger than Jesus. For now they're spreading the California Love around their home state through gigs with Wooden Wand.

Disciples of California:

01 Disciples of California
02 Places West of Shawnapee
03 Sally Orchid
04 Egyptian Circus
05 Marching Band
06 William & the Sacred Hammer
07 Golden Pilgrim
08 Jesus Was Californian
09 I Remember Sally Orchid
10 Silvery Branches
11 Hollow Tree

California Love:

10-19 Nevada City, CA - National Hotel *
10-20 Big Sur, CA - Fernwood Lodge *

* with Wooden Wand and the Sky High Band