Not Until the Operation's Through

South San Gabriel, like Centro-matic, emanates from Will Johnson's immense vault of songs. While Centro-matic is best known for their bombastic, fuzz-laden rock songs and Johnson's solo recordings tend toward the sad and sparse, South San Gabriel is the outlet for Johnson's open-ended, hallucinatory pop songs. The stunning journey of The Carlton Chronicles fits neatly on a shelf alongside Iron & Wine, Sufjan Stevens, and Smog, blending stunning songwriting with a delicate and nuanced approach to production and orchestration.