Singer/songwriter Sean Rawls' ad hoc band
Still Flyin, consisting of numerous members of indie rock groups from San Francisco and elsewhere, gathered together to play his songs set to Jamaican rocksteady rhythms. It plays in a shambling, offhand way on the assemblage's second EP,
Za Cloud. (Antenna Farm Records prefers to call this release and its 2006 predecessor, Time Wrinkle, "EJs," for "Extended Jams.") Loosely arranged female backup vocals, lazy horns, and rambling beats from the rhythm section accompany Rawls' rough singing and choppy guitar playing in songs like the leadoff track, "Sticking My Head in Ice Water (Almost for Too Long)" and "The Bird Is Aware," a sort of sequel to "Surfin' Bird," complete with "papa-oo-mow-mow" chorus. It's all in fun, of course, and that's the key to this fairly silly, but still enjoyable disc. ~ William Ruhlmann