“Better Now” is a swirling slice of modern psychedelia from Sacramento-based collective Family Photo, who recorded their new EP Nude Celebz at LA studio and venue Top Tomato. Stabbing clarinet samples are immediately presented as the song’s backbone, a solid choice considering the later emergence of higher-pitched orchestral sounds. A lush beginning with female vocals gives way to a similar counterpart with male vocals, sounding eerily like Ed Droste’s. They incorporate into a pleasantly sedated sound; the creaky instrumentation reminds of tape looping done right. The haunting female harmonizing in the background during this section is exceptionally placed, and aids in the seamless maneuvering into the effervescent and highly melodic chorus. “Find your life in the used pile, in the back of the shopping mart, ” both vocalists sing there, the initial clarinet sample still in the background. “Sell it back with the know-how to claim it does just about anything, everything’s better now.”
