Kevin Bronson on December 17th, 2015

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Trickster Guru is the sound of the swingin’ Sixties, nudged into the new millennium by updated production and a welcome conceptual approach. It’s the project of singer-songwriter-producer Christopher Caplan, who tackled big topics dating back to his days as a folkie and now continues with “Act I: The Problem Child,” a two-song release that could be the soundtrack to an Austin Powers dance party if Austin Powers were really serious stuff. “Feel the Spirit” has a groovy-baby organ backdrop and is about as upbeat as you could be in a song that’s about “a group of teenagers who are killed in a car accident while drinking and driving on a Saturday night, but continue their evening in the afterlife,” Caplan says. Then there is “Problem Child,” a song inspired by the legendary 1970s L.A. cult leader Father Yod and his group the Source Family. It’s a modern-retro trip whose organ-tinted psychedelia gives way to a chorus and drop crafted by new electro producer AWAY. Born to be wild, indeed: “I can tell you lots of stories about the hippies and the war / I can give you the feeling that you’ve been here before,” Caplan sings, a feat he accomplishes in more ways than one.

||| Stream: “Feel the Spirit” and “Problem Child”

||| Live: Trickster Guru plays at 3 Clubs on Jan. 7.