Jeffrey Silverstein’s second full-length LP is a new golden standard for cosmic Americana music.

Out today on the great Arrowhawk Records, this album features perhaps the most fully realized version of the PNW-based artist’s sound. If you follow each of Silverstein’s releases in chronological order, you’ll hear his sonic horizons expand until he has a full palette of spaced-out country sounds to work with. This feat certainly couldn’t have been achieved without the assistance of the talented peers who join Silvertein on this disc, like William Tyler, Barry Walker Jr. and Akron/Family’s Dana Buoy.

With Walker’s oozy pedal steel creating a dreamy foundation for Silverstein to float his smooth-as-bourbon vocals and echoing guitar lines over, this record easily conjures a psychedelicized view of the arid Southwestern landscape. It’s easy to start imagining glowing picturesque vistas full of Joshua trees, funky cacti and Rhinestone UFOs while you get carried off by the nodding beats and rippling tremolo waves of songs like “No Rain” and “(Theme From) Western Sky Music.”

Yet what sets this album apart from its many shroomy contemporaries, is its heart. There’s a friendly warmth engrained into the very DNA of each song that exudes nothing but kindness and love. This is especially true with the suitably titled “Sunny Jean,” which was sweetly written for Silverstein’s wife. The song radiates enough positive vibes through its cruising tempo and glistening guitars that it can brighten just about any cloudy day.

It might only be May, but this very well could already be the record of the summer. Be sure to order your copy from Arrowhawk today.

-KH