A longtime figure of the psych, pop, and everything in between scene in the Bay Area, Luke Sweeney is back with a new and unsurprisingly solid record, Novel Tea.
Another entry into his dependably great catalog, Novel Tea is a return to quirky form after the more downbeat ‘80s synths and spiritual pontifications of his last few albums (though there is still some of that here and there). This one’s a bouncier, poppier effort, filled with energizing hooks and melodies that will stick in your head for hours. The album standouts are the two eminently singable singles, “Subsidize Our Rent” and “Probably Me”: the former feels made for a stop-motion music video in the sharply-halting notes of its chorus, and the latter is a dead ringer for Graceland-era Paul Simon. It’s a shame this is coming out as summer comes to a close, because this is a prime sunny-day, windows-down-on-an-open-road kind of record.
Luke Sweeney debuts Novel Tea at the 4 Star Theater in San Francisco on August 29, with more NorCal appearances to follow in September.
