Localized Fell 

It’s a shame Fell didn’t get Incoherent Lullabies into stores in time for Denver’s nearly record-breakingly soggy June, as the album sounds like a rainy-day classic in the making. The second full-length release from Denver’s enigmatic space-rock outfit Fell doesn't quite touch the doom-and-gloom sounds of its predecessor, A Farewell to Echoes. Instead it bonds layers of drone with the sparkles of dream-pop glitter.

Frontman Josh Wambeke's lyrical presence is undeniable, making Fell's preoccupation with the spaced-out ambiences as tangled, twisted, and impenetrable as a Gordian knot. His hushed, often languid vocals and the haunting, dead-room drones cast a big wet blanket over Lullabies, but Fell doesn’t revel in pervasive sorrow. Instead of making nods to the heavyset despair of Neurosis or Jesu, Fell blends a subtle melodic sense that hints at classic slowdive or My Bloody Valentine albums. Fell’s still a lot less pop-minded than classic shoegazer bands, but now the comparisons to the early-‘90s wall-of-noise rockers isn’t so forced.

A simple acoustic-pop guitar is layered on top of the track “Dust On The Countertops,” providing a glimmer of hope and a tangible hook that’s a perfect foil to Wambeke’s  restrained vocals and the cycles of deep-space electronics that give the song a body. “Tour Starts In September” backs off the pop, letting dreamy synths and a rumbly low end overpower Wambeke’s sparse guitar work giving the song a hefty feel in spite of its delicate melodies.

The newfound direction sits well with Fell, making Lullabies as mesmerizing and contemplative as the band we’ve come to know over the years. There’s an infinite amount of room in deep space, and the new wrinkles this album unveils makes it look like Fell’s ready to expand its sound to explore that void.

A.V. Club Grade: A-