When Dr. Dog crept onto the scene in the early 2000s with their widely bootlegged debut, The Psychedelic Swamp, their sound was a hazy, psychedelic, super-lo-fi folk. Fans waded through the murk and fuzz to find sweetly composed, slyly winking singalongs. With more albums came a sonic crispness, peaking with 2010’s tight, playful Shame, Shame. Now, 15 years after Dr. Dog seemed to crawl out of a basement studio, the Philadelphia sextet are swimming back to recover their lost relic.

2016’s Psychedelic Swamp features pumped-up, dusted-off versions of the songs from their debut. The web of multi-tracked vocals is gone; the washed-out, often-warped piano and guitars are history. They’ve emboldened the Psychedelic and downplayed the Swamp to create a brand new album. “Golden Hind” gets things off to a paisley scented start, with its deliciously lazy, wobbling guitar and former guitarist Doug O’Donnell rejoining the gang on vocals after a decade away. “Ever-changing day, written on my face,” he croons, a veritable tagline for the album.

The Swamp starts grooving with “Dead Record Player,” complete with sunny group vocals and a doo-wop rhythm. The once shambling “Engineer Says” is now a slinky, lurching funk with clattering piano and jagged guitar, better for a loud stereo than expensive headphones. And new tune “Bring My Baby Back” is one of Dr. Dog’s best, and most quotable, fitting in with the older gems seamlessly. “Fate is hilarious…does what he wants, swinging drunk and unhinged from the rafters, dragging his tail through the swamp,” calls co-frontman Toby Leaman over bouncing percussion and piano that seem to laugh along with him.

So, is the Swamp a “reunion tour” type of retreat, or a worthwhile artistic endeavor? Check out newly energized jams like the twirling “Badvertise” or the cleaned-up loveliness of “In Love,” and the answer is clear. With this new Swamp, Dr. Dog has reclaimed a superfan-only “lost recording,” polished it and emerged with their best album in six years. The guys revisit these catchy, quirky tunes with the same expert eyes that have made them among the top psychedelic-pop purveyors of the last decade. With an infectious excitement, Dr. Dog presents us with delirious fun that you don’t need a flashlight to find.