The Tiny Adventurers

Wild-Eyed in the Hinterlands

Lakeland chimes of the Li’l Cap’n Travis variety, Austin’s answer to ’67 vintage Beach Boys and the Byrds, immediately bob to the surface of Wild-Eyed in the Hinterlands. Storybook opener “The Cobra and the Mongoose,” pristine Neverland pop, couldn’t be anyone else. That’s commensurate with the fact that three of LCT’s five members anchor the Tiny Adventurers. Matt Kinsey’s soft, loveable frog prince vocals and Gary Newcomb’s dreamy steel sprinkle the fairy dust coating all 14 tracks, each a uniquely textured entity coloring the overall mosaic. Crazy Horse detailing on “The Sword of Damocles” and “Werewolf Summer,” Tubular Bells touches on “Theme From ‘The Killer Signed the Cast'” and 1950s radioactivity on bookend “Theme From ‘The Killer Signed the Casket,'” not to mention a slice of Santo & Johnny’s “Sleepwalk” in “Little Vato” add up to every single track unspooling narcotic audio provocation and ear candy. You’ll almost miss summer.

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This article appears in October 21 • 2011.

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San Francisco native Raoul Hernandez crossed the border into Texas on July 2, 1992, and began writing about music for the Chronicle that fall, debuting with an album review of Keith Richards’ Main Offender. By virtue of local show previews – first “Recommendeds,” now calendar picks – his writing’s appeared in almost every issue since 1993.