LOCAL! Sunny, lovely, and professionally casual folk-inflected rock from the Bay Area singer-songwriter laureate of witty detachment. Cass McCombs is originally from Concord and has spent a lot of time in Northern California lately, and since his 2011 album Humor Risk he's leaned into the summery North Bay jam-band vibe, though he still has a Beat poet's wit. The band's in no hurry to get anywhere, and even McCombs seems to be having unironic fun. References to places in the Bay Area abound. RIYL Bill Callahan, Ryley Walker, Michael Hurley, Nap Eyes, the San Francisco sound of the sixties and seventies. Favorites: 2 (especially), 3, 7. No FCCs detected.

1. (4:49)—Mid-tempo, crunchy but restrained. Leonard Cohen-like lyrics, with a shoutout to Martinez.
2. *(3:41)—Fast and floaty, with multiple percussion layers. Karaoke as extended metaphor for emotional deceit. Clever and catchy and beautiful.
3. *(4:11)—Mid-tempo. Acoustic strumming, bird sounds. An extremely peppy song about San Francisco after the end times. Satisfying verse dunking on Elon Musk. (One word sounds like an FCC but he's saying "forked.")
4. (6:33)—Medium-slow space-jazz Western. Written from the perspective of a veteran. Group choruses with Wynonna Judd guesting, soft fiddle played by Charles Burnham.
5. (4:58)—Mid-tempo cumbia beat with laser noises. Spaced-out singing. Pair this with anything on the Roots of Chicha compilations.
6. (5:34)—Medium-slow, serene, sweetly sung bar-band jam. A story song that introduces the band members one by one.
7. *(4:11)—Medium-fast, chugging rhythm. Slightly noisy beginning, but becomes a smooth pop song quickly. Dire Straits and Boz Scaggs vibes? Really pretty.
8. (8:28)—Very slow, free tempo. Wah guitar, soft sax. McCombs harmonizes with himself softly and pensively. "Empty ketchup packets may inherit the city." Lovely instrumental second half with a more consistent slow beat.