The Mother Hips

Straddling the line between studio polish and roots-rock looseness, The Mother Hips gathered a following in the mid-’90s not through hit singles or record sales, but through tireless touring. The band took a brief hiatus in the early part of this decade, but it’s been in full force since late 2004, making it back to record shelves in 2007 with the solid Kiss The Crystal Flake. The spliffed-up band continued to employ melodic psych-rock and great harmonies on the album—which includes “Time We Had,” a song gamers might recognize from Rock Band—but it still shines brightest onstage. The Mother Hips are currently out behind their latest slab of refined fuzz, Pacific Dust.

Updated 11/23/2009