Some things are always welcome here in the valley. Good friends with six packs, boxes of CDs, winning lottery tickets, anyone willing to clean up anything, ever, and so forth. Somewhere on that unwritten list is quality ’70s-style boogie rock — music that makes you feel good without being corny or overly emotionally trite — the kind of stuff in which?Portland, Maine‘s Sun Gods in Exile specialize. Their recently reviewed Small Stone debut, Black Light, White Lines, comes on like a wicked buzz, and though tunes like “The Gripper” and “Mexico” are bound to get up to some mischief, well, they’re just so darn lovable.

There’s beer and cocaine flowing freely, but the party never ends in tragedy and everyone’s the coolest guy in the room. Guitarist Tony D’Agostino (ex-Cortez)?rips solos so naturally it’s easy to imagine him doing it in his sleep, and vocalist/guitarist?Adam Hitchcock sounds road-tested and whiskey-drenched. Bassist JL‘s name will be familiar to anyone playing along at home from monolithic doomers Ocean, and though Sun Gods in Exile is quite a departure, he sounds perfectly at home in the rhythm section alongside drummer Johnny Kennedy. Together, they’re party rock sans douchebaggery, not looking to harsh your buzz or anything but hey would it be cool if they made out with your grandma for a while? It’s hard to say no.

In between shreds, D’Agostino took a couple minutes out of his busy day to let his fingers hammer out the answers to the email interview after the jump, discussing how the band got together, recording with Benny Grotto (Dixie Witch, Roadsaw, etc.) and of course the obligatory touring question. Click “Read more” and enjoy.

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