Full disclosure: I did not expect to enjoy Sunflower Sessions by The Red Plastic Buddha. I saw the 60’s-style cover art, the trippy bubble letters – the name, for heaven’s sake – and while I enjoy 60’s rock as much as the next critic, I tend to feel that, like Vegas, what happens in the 60’s should stay in the 60’s.

But as soon as the first track came on, I was, for want of a better word, grooving. It’s really your only option when you listen to this album. You’ve got all the important bits: the faintly exotic guitar, the Doors-style keyboard, the seemingly-improvisational song endings that go on for days, and that swelling vibe. Do you know what I mean? That feeling that only sixties music gives me, like something’s building up in your chest as the song works up to its conclusion. It’s heavy, man.

“Come on and let it happen to you,” croons the lead singer, Timothy Ferguson. “You’ve gotta open up your mind and let everything flow through.” Point taken, boys. And let’s be honest: you had me at ‘come on.’

Favorite Track: “Clouds”