Acetone

• Genre: Slowcore
• Hometown: Los Angeles

About

Acetone's songs move at the rhythm of nodding heads. Not that the band is the least bit boring; in fact, anyone familiar with their lazily-paced, harmonious songs will agree that Acetone are one of the most overlooked and underrated West Coast bands of all time. Acetone mine from a well of Beach Boys vocal harmonies and Burrito Brothers twang, although their singular, medicated California sound is unmistakable. Mark Lightcap's prodigiously tasteful guitar playing burns tubes as he picks, bends and distorts in magical stylings reminiscent of Mazzy Star's David Roback and the Velvet Underground. Singer and bass player Richie Lee sounds like a gold plated version of Low's Alan Sparhawk. Combined with Lightcap's backing harmonies, the two take on a down-tempo Byrdsian similarity, sometimes dipping into a womb-like twang that's refreshingly divorced from the tired Alt Country realm.

- Eric Shea