I guess even L.A. needs a musical moment now and again.

The polyglot capital of the entertainment world hasn't been a true hotbed of interesting music in ages. Like, perhaps, the 70s. I've reviewed dozens of L.A. artists over the years, but they've always been outliers. Not anymore. In the past year, a significant portion of the truly great stuff I've heard has been made by those who call L.A. home. Much of it is by folks who make a living working on more profitable segments of the entertainment machine, but there's also a sound that seems to be bubbling up more and more.

Mystic Braves The Great Unknown (Lollipop Records)

Mystic Braves are yet another example of the louche, country and psychedelic-tinged space rock that rings more and more truly from that most singular of American metropoli. The beat sticks to the midtempo, the harmonies are spot on and the reverb is just so. Not unlike Gram Parsons playing Love.

The album unfolds without much mystery, but it sure sounds lovely doing so. The songs aren't so much memorable as lovely and engaging. This is not a set to stick on the randomizer. It's made for the turntable, though it makes very few demands of a listener. Just listen and let the totality of the sound wash over.

More than 20 years ago, the Brian Jonestown Massacre deconstructed the bones of this sound and laid down the template. Sometimes it takes a (long) while for the world to catch up. Mystic Braves should help the rest of the world turn on to this latest L.A. thang.

Jon Worley