Now - And Blue Space Is Burning Noon

From the people who brought us Children Maybe Later comes yet another shining light plucked from San Fran's current starlit constellation. Like with CML, Now are a three-piece who have some crossover with other Bay Area acts you may already be familiar with, mainly in the form of lead man, Will Smith, who played with great distinction with Cindy on their recent UK tour, and CML/Famous Mammals' Stanley Martinez who turns up on mixing duties on a few of the early tracks. It's somewhat of a surprise, then, that Now remind me more of the last great wave of West Coast acts than this current crop - think The Mantles, Sam Flax, Ariel Pink, Part Time, or more specifically, their rechanneling of Martin Newell style psych-kissed melancholia into a fresh rearrangement of off-piste melodicism. I suppose that's not too dissimilar to what Sad Eyed Beatniks are also up to, but Now, like that name might suggest, feel slightly more extrovert and front-foot facing, jumping out the speakers, shaking the shoulders and sashaying with no little glam elan. There's endless tunes here, only partially disguising a series of smart inventions and immaculate aesthetics, fully-formed, straight out of the pack. And not to mention the unexpected controls-set-for-the-heart-of-the-sun kraut-derived instrumental that closes affairs. In case you hadn't guessed, it's another winner from the city that wont quit putting out. Keep 'em coming, ppppplease!