These scruffy Philadelphians struck a nice balance on their previous album, "Easybeat," which stirred up sunny '60s and '70s album-rock melodies with an unforced, indie-pop feel.

The Dog is cut from the same cloth as bands of the retro-indie collective Elephant Six: dabbling in psych, but more cuddly than trippy. The band members even go by handy, cartoony names: Thanks (guitar), Triumph (trapset), Taxi (on "woof and mud" guitar and voice), Tables (bass) and Text (organ).

"Easybeat" was recorded on the group's own 8-track reel-to-reel. But, with accolades for the band's Beach Boys-style harmonies pouring in from the U.K. (where the fellows toured with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah) and an emerging fanbase that's an unlikely cross section of young hippies (via Bonnaroo and the endorsement of My Morning Jacket), indie kids and mature classic rockers, the group (after issuing an EP) upped the ante on "We All Belong," going to 24 tracks.

Turns out that the increase in fidelity isn't as noteworthy as the band's increasingly nutty arrangements. The sonics are still quaintly rendered, even as the intro to "My Old Ways" hints at the grandiose approach of Jeff Lynne's production style. The laidback 'tude of "Easybeat" contrasts with a crankier and downbeat Dog on this long-player. It begins, in fact, with "Old News," in which the fellas stick up for themselves and tell us they've "been toiling in transistor soil." Deeper in the disc, the gospeldelic "Die Die Die" sounds downright forlorn.

The Dog opts for a bit of an obvious Band tribute on "Alaska," but in their signature, ragged way, they turn the Americana into something of their own with a sprawling guitar solo that presses all the right buttons. The up-tempo, almost jazzy "Worst Trip" finds the dudes at their axe-wielding best, doubling up unusual proggy riffage.

"Ain't it Strange" is Dr. Dog [ tickets ] at its best, packing in extraordinary harmonies and piano textures with a touch of acid guitar in something of a mini-epic, a la "Across the Universe," yet somehow clocking in at only 4:28. This is rock music that doubles as a comfy sweater without being icky cute, and that's all too rare.