Philadelphonic

G.Love takes a crazy variety of styles - hip-hop, rural blues, '70s funk, '60s folk - and stirs them into a gumbo that somehow tastes perfect. Philadelphonic is sleeker and more streamlined than its three predecessors.

For sheer quality and individuality - from quoting Hendrix to old funk riffs, from embracing hip hop as rock'n'roll to professing love for a decaying home town - it's as engaging as ever.

The spirit seems to have moved Special Sauce, too: Philadelphonic is the lightest, breeziest album the band has recorded.