Ride the Black Wave

iTunes Editors’ Notes

San Diego’s Donkeys use their laid-back surroundings to California dream and turn their indie rock into a warm psychedelic-folk vibe where warm ocean breezes are as detectable in their sound as the sand between their toes. The simple ambitions of the six-and-a-half-minute opener, “Sunny Daze,” recasts the aggressive feedback of The Velvet Underground’s “Sister Ray” into an acoustic two-chord jam that’s underpinned by harmonies and a sense of campfire camaraderie. “The Manx” follows with a mystical two minutes of further harmony-filled jamming. The Donkeys prove that a band need little more than vocalists who sound at home together to put across their songs. “Nothing” does much with its feel-good web of sound. “I Heart Alabama” recalls the “country-lite” sounds of The Byrds and The Grateful Dead by leaving out the drums and adding harmonies without obvious country twang. “Scissor Me Cigs” throws a Mellotron into the gorgeous mix. “Bahamas” moves this country-space rock sound down to the shoreline, which is paid homage on “Imperial Beach.” “Shines” ends things with a touch of a Stones-like rhythm.