San Diego's The Donkeys strike a balance of smiling, surfer mysticism and winking, slacker mystique.

They reanimate the charming hallmarks of sunshine-rock past without being sepia-toned retro or bubblegum-cloying.

There is an innate playfulness and honesty to the music they make. It's a dynamic that has made public champions of keen-eared musicians like John Darnielle (Mountain Goats) and Craig Finn (The Hold Steady).

It was Darnielle who claimed The Donkeys were benevolent keepers of what he called "The Antidote" to an unnamed sickness plaguing indie rock.We liked that sentiment a great deal.

BornWith Stripes is an altogether less twangy affair than the band's 2008 Dead Oceans debut, Living On The Other Side.

The nods to Grateful Dead and Buffalo Springfield are better balanced with echoes of other Cali arists, notably Pavement and Beck.

The country-rock flairs are often overtaken by powerpop hooks.What some might call a lazy melody is really just a melody on its own clock.

Nice and relaxed.