Destroyer

The Canadian heavy-psych group's fifth studio long-player and the follow-up to 2016's , is 's tightest, gnarliest, and least sprawling outing to date. Clocking in at just over 40 minutes, the eight-track set commences with the assured "Future Shade," a guitarmony-heavy nitro-burning dragster of a jam that channels -era by way of . Featuring a re-tooled lineup that introduces of and a trio of seasoned kit men ( [ ], ], and ]), lives up to its moniker by using muscly classic rock and trashy '80s metal for a lodestar -- the name is a reference to the single-run 1985 Dodge Destroyer. "Horns Arising" goes all in on y doom, with beefy guitar leads duking it out with snaky synth lines and plenty of spacy vocoder -- there's even an extended, finger-picked acoustic bit reminiscent of "The Writ" from . Elsewhere, the dizzying "High Rise" makes great use of and 's voices -- their icy cool interplay evokes a stoner metal version of -- and the snappy "Pretty Little Lazies" uses the framework of 's "Pictures of Matchstick Men" to craft a lethally sweet psych-pop confection. Produced with heft -- and a whole lot of flange -- by is at its best when it leaves the noodling behind, which it does more often than not. Still, there is plenty here to savor for fans of lurid, bong hit-worthy sonic vistas -- the hypnotic closer "FD72" would've sounded superb ringing out from the roadhouse stage on Showtime's Twin Peaks revival -- but this time around, are out of the basement and out on the town looking for trouble. ~ James Christopher Monger