It's always a challenge to make good retro-pop without sounding too derivative or obvious (just ask Oasis or Lenny Kravitz). On their third album (and first in three years), this affable San Francisco quartet does just that by toning down their more rambling, psychedelic tendencies while polishing their late Beatles/Badfinger/Big Star-drenched songcraft to the point where it sparkles and shines like the very best late '60s/early '70s AM radio gold. Oranger may proudly wear their influences on their sleeves, but they also excel at making the familiar sound fresh and compelling.

Shutdown The Sun opens with the atypical "Cut Off Yer Thumbs", a woozy, lethargic lullaby that's more Flaming Lips than Flaming Groovies. After getting that out of their system right away, they follow with a stunning, breathless rush of gems -- one three-minute mini-masterpiece after another. The magnificent "Going Under" sounds like Wilco at their poppiest and Teenage Fanclub at their crunchiest, and that's not even factoring in the sweet slide solo that could've come from George Harrison's ghost. "Bluest Glass Eye Sea" nearly one-ups it with lead singer/songwriter Mike Drake most successfully indulging his Andy Partridge fixation, only as if he were also covering Jellyfish, Three Dog Night and The Banana Splits all at once. Speaking of XTC, the gracefully gliding title track could easily fit on Skylarking or Oranges and Lemons without dragging either of those psych-pop classics down.

"Tree Bent Sun" aims for Jon Brion-produced Aimee Mann-style majesty and nearly clinks it; "Just A Little Dumb" aims just a little lower, with its upfront fuzz bass, sitar guitars, dinky organ and cheery, harmless misogyny approaching bubblegum, or perhaps The Lovin' Spoonful. "Othersider" does Oasis far better than Oasis have done themselves in years; "The Writer (H.F.)" reveals a talent for Ray Davies-like picaresque sketches and mournful pedal steel solos. "Static On The High Desert" is delicately dark, expansive and stirring, especially with the addition of some gorgeous strings on the second verse. The rockabilly barrel piano shuffle of "Sweet Goodbye" alters the spirit but doesn't disrupt the flow. And the closer, "Delivered By Compass", cleverly recasts the lyrics and melody of "Going Under" in a more languorous tempo and jazzier key, resulting in serene, gently aching exit music for a film -- a perfect conclusion to a concise, surprisingly strong, nearly flawless album.