Timing is everything. So it’s with a touch of bittersweet head smacking that Seattle band The Pharmacy announced their break-up on the eve of the release of its fifth album, Spells (Old Flame Records/Burger Records). But if you’re going to go out, it’s best to go out on top, and The Pharmacy have achieved that full stop.

If you didn’t know anything about The Pharmacy and came into the record cold, you’d likely be thrown for a loop. The sound of Spells is that of ‘60s garage rock run through a Brit-pop filter with a chaser of indie rock. So it’s funny that it’s actually a modern record made by a trio of American guys. Spells isn’t a record that’s purposely shot through with retro vibes, but it hits a lot of points on the checklist, especially in the soaring but loose harmonies of “Masten Lake Lagoon,” and the fuzzed out guitars and lo-fi, almost-mono sound of the production on much of the album. But one gets the sense that The Pharmacy slow rolled its way into this style and relatively relaxed approach. While their earlier records had a bit more frantic bash to them, songs like “Coat Tales” and “Anna Belle” here show that the band isn’t afraid to sit in the pocket. It’s a record made for leisure trash talk and a few glasses of shandy, though the sunshine vibe still has bite. The guitars swoop, snarl and buzz, and attack, contrasting with the laidback rhythms and keys that are slightly less prominent this time around

It’s a bummer that The Pharmacy called it quits just as they’ve discovered an extra gear. Spells sounds like the type of record that should have been debuted on the stage of Shindig! (if time travel were possible), but is also very much of the moment. It’s the sound of maturing, if not quite maturity, and a clear-eyed, unselfconscious move to something different. It’s also one hell of a swan song.