The Orange Peels

Preternaturally Californian, songwriter/musician Allen Clapp is forever the boy with his summer transistor. But that doesn't mean his unfeigned pop arrangements are without those emotional markers that become more defined at a certain age and place, like remaining completely in love, or the departure of longtime friends from the circle to start their own families. Indie pop, with its easy predilection for both McGuinn's guitar and the lavender candy of France Gall, is more associative than people who don't like the genre care to admit. And it's this malleable, sincere -- OK, often soft -- aesthetic that has afforded Clapp a pretty perfect outlet for a variety of projects since the '90s, including his current band the Orange Peels and a 2002 solo album, Available Light, where he handled all of the instrumentation (and critics heard a less rocky Bread as well as a longing for Elton John's Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy).Circling the Sun is the Orange Peels' third full-length record, and it's the best one yet. While their last two records were well received -- among fans the big issue seems to be whether Square or the follow-up So Far is your favorite -- the previous line on this Northern Californian band appears to be: Approved West Coast pop with little deviation from the form. Circling the Sun suggests that all the band needed to put itself over was some studio luster to match the frequent coastal allusions and emotive planetary references.While there is no denying what a transformation Circling the Sun is for the Orange Peels, maybe the bigger deal is that the band is as openhearted as ever here, taking flight. "California Blue" reminds me of both the Springfields' "Sunflower" and Harry Nilsson's version of "Everybody's Talkin.'" "Boy in Space" recasts the soft-rock references of Todd Rundgren and even the piano of Epic Soundtracks, with an on-high chorus and a feeling plaint: "Take my faults, my fears, my flaws/ 'Til I want these things no more."The Orange Peels have always made the music they wanted to make without the head mess of scenes, yet still maintained a discography that reads like bedroom indie cred. If the dream is to be able to do this full-time, Circling the Sun just might help them realize it.--NEUMU