Crystal Antlers

When a record hits with aggressive, primitive garage grooves on one end and a psychedelic smear of hyper keyboards and noisy guitars on the other, it can take quite a few spins to get oriented. Fortunately, Crystal Antlers’ first full-length (and, sadly, one of the final releases from their label, the legendary Touch And Go Records), Tentacles, has enough sonic smarts to let all the elements of the California band’s sound expand and mesh together in its own time. Aggressively trippy, yet chiseled and concise, the band’s new follow-up, Two-Way Mirror, holds the two sides together, though it’s not as balanced as its predecessor. Still, the album has its sporadic high points, such as the art-garage whiplash of “By The Sawkill,” and suggests greatness to come.

Updated 07/26/2011