It is, to borrow a (para) phrase from another time, like grunge never happened. If the resurgence of Brit bands, bubblegum pop and disco isn't proof enough, consider the state of late-'90s low-fi indie rock: Home recording and grass-roots ideologies remain prominent but, aesthetically, bands like the Apples in Stereo aren't low-fi, indie or rock.

The Apples' debut, Fun Trick Noisemaker, came out in '95, making them the first band to emerge from the Elephant 6 collective of cross-pollinating psychedelic popsmiths, whose numbers also include the Olivia Tremor Control and Neutral Milk Hotel. Apples leadman Robert Schneider is practically a member of the other two like-minded combos as well. What those minds like is "stereosymphonic" '60s music, in all its fabulously harmonic and catchily candied glory. (Schneider's Denver studio is called Pet Sounds; he's also a big Zombies and Beatles fan.)

Tone Soul Evolution uses 24 tracks to continue the Apples' pursuit of lavish, slightly addled melodic beauty. There are ukulele, sleigh bells, "sound-collage art" and six different people on hand claps. Despite Schneider's aspirations toward broody, ornamented epics (such as the moody, two-part "Silvery Light of a Dream"), it's his simplest moments that resonate best: the Byrdsian hookery of "Seems So," the time-warp garage guitar on "What's the #?," the potent lyrics and jangling, carnival charm of "Tin Pan Alley." Schneider's heroes were about good songs as much as groovy sounds; likewise, Tone Soul Evolution is best when it measures up at both ends. (RS 778)

JASON COHEN