Culled from a stack of 2” tapes found in an LA basement, Chronicle Man retrieves 11 passed-over tracks from the band’s fertile period in ‘95/‘96, when they released Part Timer Goes Full and Shootout. Unlike some B-grade “B-side and outtake” collections, these cuts come together as a cohesive statement, like lost children who connect through common bloodlines. “Desert Song” is classic Mother Hips—a B3 and Telecaster ramble that’s one part California Soul and one part country-rock. “El Pancho Villa” highlights the thrashed out garage band meets John Lennon sound of their live shows while “St. Andrew” shakes down the ineluctable influence of Gram Parsons. “Headache To Headache” is just that—a throbbing fuzzy migraine of a tune that pushes at the temples and twists at the eardrums while the pop psychedelia of the ensuing tune, “The Flood,” offers but a postage-stamp-size measure of relief. “Rich Little Girl” is 100-percent rock and roll, a full-throttle, post-Iggy instrumental that starts with a few “la las” and “yeah yeahs” and finishes with a trip into the Rare Earth. Hardly a mind-numbing slideshow of past adventures, Chronicle Man is a cool trip in the here and now.