The Apples in Stereo

Led by Robert Schneider, a writer/producer who can practically make two tin cans and a comb sound like Revolver, the Apples in Stereo are the core of the Elephant 6 Recording Company, a loosely affiliated set of bands in love with the psychedelic hues of '60s pop (others include Neutral Milk Hotel and Olivia Tremor Control). Fun Trick Noisemaker is Elephant 6's statement of purpose, bursting with inventiveness and energy, and graced with gleefully lysergic arrangements and Beach Boys–inspired harmonies. Science Faire collects a few earlier, rawer singles, recorded at home on a four- track tape machine—if you heard them on an AM radio, though, you'd never know the difference.

With Tone Soul Evolution, the Apples got to play in a big studio for the first time, and you can hear their delight with their new toys—they layer on track after track of horns and piano and doot- doot- doot backing vocals like they're determined to use all 24. Schneider's songs aim for the simple elegance of the classic pop he adores, and usually get there; "Seems So" and "Shine a Light" are almost impossibly catchy, and he scatters them with sweetly bent guitar solos that conjure up vintage George Harrison. The subsequent Her Wallpaper Reverie—seven songs, plus eight little instrumental doodles—gets lost in suspicious fumes in much the same way as its lesser psychedelic ancestors, although it does include the stately Magical Mystery Tour homage "Strawberryfire."

The Discovery of a World Inside the Moone raises the stakes again—the production compresses half an hour's worth of classic- rock- radio harmonies, hip- swinging beats, and guitar crunch into every three minutes. After the opening slam dunks of "Go" and "The Rainbow," though, the tunes aren't as memorable as the lush, varied recording implies they are. Let's Go! is a nifty quickie for kids, featuring two versions of "Signal in the Sky," the irresistible rocker they recorded for TV's The Powerpuff Girls, plus a sloppy- but- fun live cover of the Beach Boys' very Apples- esque "Heroes & Villains."

The Apples ditched the fancy production and streamlined their boogie on Velocity of Sound. Schneider's new model seems to be Nuggets-style caffeine-buzz garage psychedelia, drummer Hilarie Sidney's two tunes match his hook- for- hook, and the band's got its fuzz pedals cranked all the way up. Average track time: 2:38. (DOUGLAS WOLK)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide