Pitchfork

Ah, the glory of vaguely psychedelic 60s pop. This stuff sure is everywhere, and lots of it-- including The Essex Green's Everything Is Green-- can be attributed to the Elephant 6 Recording Co. The movement was essentially kicked off on a grand level by The Apples in Stereo, who helped elevate the infinitely more capable Olivia Tremor Control and decidedly not-that-psychy Neutral Milk Hotel to indie-rock stardom. But for every band that rocks in the Elephant 6 collective, there are two that suck fat ass. (I'm not gonna name any names if it's alright by Elf Power.) Fortunately, after the recent drought of good new bands bearing the Elephant 6 seal of approval, the wait is finally over.

People say Everything Is Green is merely an authentic replica of psych-folk records from the 1960s-- that the band isn't just influenced by that sound, but they actually are that sound. But the difference between The Essex Green and folks like the Apples in Stereo is that The Essex Green make no attempt at twee-pop. You'll find no Wolfie-style, three-chord fluff here. The melodies echo the more complex pop structures of the 60s made popular by bands like the Mamas and the Papas, The Doors, or a darker Byrds.

In general, Everything Is Green is a pretty solid record. Almost every other song here is a standout, and even the occasional mildly irritating tracks ("Saturday", "Big Green Tree", and "Tinker") subtly grow on you over the course of a few listens. Except the utterly crap faux-British second track, "The Playground", which sits like a cancer on the face of the album. On the other hand, if you have to wade through a few minutes of shit, it's worth it for songs like the brilliant crescendo-pop opener "Primrose", the cool breeziness of "Mrs. Bean", the wide-open strawberry fields of "Grass", the relaxed harmony of the album's title track, and the Yo La Tengo-ish "Sixties".

Truth be told, The Essex Green seem infatuated with the spookiness that certain minor chords provide. But rather than hold them back, that element seems to propel them to heights that may have been otherwise unreachable. In a period where 60s revivalism in indie rock seems like a played-out (if not totally passé) concept, The Essex Green have been able to lend yet another fine album to the genre's repertoire.