Anyone remember the jukebox; those glorious cabinets from the 50s and beyond filled with stacks of 45s containing the most popular songs from the latest bands and easily programmable by the patrons of the establishment? Jukeboxes were real beauties, largely credited as the catalysts to the concept of a personal playlist. The 45 rpm records they housed also paved way for the 12’ full length. It is somewhat ironic that the 45s inspired both the playlist and the full length LP, while personal music devices have stolen back the playlist with vigour and all but slayed the concept of full albums. Of course bands still release full length records, but it’s somewhat rare to hear a complete album from start to finish these days, and indie artists, recognizing the benefits of releasing singles, often opt to release EPs rather than full lengths. The Sufis should have used such judgement on their sophomore effort titled Inventions.

The Sufis delve into a psychedelic pop swirl, a somewhat softer continuation from their debut record a year ago which proved much more complete than their latest effort. Inventions has a couple of noteworthy songs that would not only have been great as a 45 single, but also are destined to be played repeatedly through some streaming service in modern times. ‘Most Peculiar Happening Cat’ is an unpolished diamond that bears shades of The Beatles’ ‘For the Benefit of Mr. Kite’. The rough qualities are provided by the rather abrupt ending that sneaks up just when it seemed the song was hitting its stride. Perhaps the band wanted to avoid the traditional bridge-return-to-chorus pattern that so many 60s artists made famous?

This is certainly true of the rest of the album, which rarely features a track that lasts more than two and a half minutes. Nevertheless, ‘Most Peculiar Happening Cat’ is worthy of ‘A’ side status and belongs on any number of summer playlists. The same can be claimed by ‘She Said To Me’ which shares its potency with the familiar acoustical sounds of The Byrds. Certainly the catchy guitar riff coupled with the classic chorus of “Ahhs” in ‘No Expressions’ is enough to twinkle the lights on any jukebox.

But something is amiss with the Nashville trio’s second album in as many years. While the sound is authentic and produced well, a lack of sticky choruses and harmonies hinder an otherwise decent attempt at a 60s psychedelic pop revival and, with the exception of the aforementioned tracks, one would be hard pressed to remember many of the other songs months after the initial listen. Hovering around 26 minutes, the real memorable moments last for less than half that length, but are worthy of the endeavor in and of themselves. As a whole, Inventions plays nicely as the backdrop of your psychedelic dreams. In pieces, it fares much better and commands more attention.