The Skygreen Leopards have two things going for them that keep DISCIPLES OF CALIFORNIA a cut above the rest of the freak-folk pack: first, they formed in 2001 and by the time of this release were old pros, and second, they're residents of the very state extolled in this album's title. While most freak-folkies take their cues from California's music and freewheeling cultural history, the Leopards are actually from the Golden State, and their sun-drenched Byrds-y harmonies and lazily performed acoustic numbers never sound like retreads but, instead, experienced and real. At six albums in, few in the genre are better than Glenn Donaldson and Donovan Quinn.