With Mother Hips founding drummer Mike Wofchuck replaced by John Hofer, Later Days is noticeably tighter and more dynamic. “Gold Plated” finds Mother Hips veering away from their collegiate jam-rock roots and infusing classic California country-rock with their own Chico State–brewed sound. During this time, Mother Hips maintained twangy guitars, Beach Boys—inspired harmonies, and a self-imposed mandatory moustache rule that required all four members to indulge in upper-lip “manscaping” during the recording and touring of Later Days. The uncanny vocal relationship between frontmen/guitarists Tim Bluhm and Greg Loiacono is best exemplified in the folk-rocking title track, where they shift from octave parts in the verses to closer high-lonesome harmonies in the choruses. Conversely, “Esmerelda” returns The Mother Hips to the hard-grooving boogie-rock found in their prior album, Shootout, before “Motorhome” and “Tired Wings” bestow some of Bluhm’s best West Coast–flavored surfer serenades. The honky-tonkin’ “Do It on the Strings” captures a time in the late '90s when the Golden State abounded with twang-rock bands.