Lunchbox’s
Tim Brown and
Donna McKean have been making records in their Oakland, California basement for two decades inspired by 1960s/70s AM-radio pop and TV show theme music, punk, C86, and mod à la
The Creation and
The Magic of Sound (
Magic Marker Records,1999) to the dub-influenced psychedelia of
Evolver (
Lunchbox Loves You (
Their new album for
Slumberland Records,
After School Special, finds them at the height of their powers of songcraft and performance. Donna’s bass playing stakes out stylistic territory somewhere between
Carol Kaye and
Orange Juice -esque funk. Horns by Gary Olson (
Ladybug Transistor) and longtime collaborator