Wild Loneliness

's distinctively high-strung fuzz pop leaned into dissonance, speed, and righteous anger on their agitated, punky 2018 album . Twelfth studio album reverses course, exploring a wider range of instrumentation, textures, and songwriting choices without losing any of the power the band exhibits in their more explosive moments. Their signature melodic sensibility is still instantly recognizable, but instead of overdriven guitars doing the heavy lifting, acoustic guitars high in the mix are the driving force behind most of the songs. Soft piano flourishes ornament songs like "On the Floor," understated horn sections support the pushy rhythms of "Highly Suspect," and an all-out sax solo shows up in an instrumental break in the title track. Similarly subtle string arrangements appear on album-opener "City of the Dead" and "This Night," adding touches of sophistication and depth. is a canvas for this kind of approach. The chorus of "Endless Summer" features triumphant, restrained vocal harmonies from members of , and closing track "If You're Not Dark" begins with a patient synthesizer drone that opens up into fingerpicked acoustic guitars and builds into a steady, thoughtful anthem. It's not all soft and introspective fare, though, as the band still clunks and pogos their way through the distorted "Refracting." is hardly the first time has showed another side of their sound, though. Throughout their 30-plus-year run, the band's discography has periodically strayed from the jittery pop of their earliest songs to experiment with toned-down arrangements. The general upbeat tempos, the inclusion of at least one overtly aggressive rager, and the fact that most of the material would work just fine arranged as meat-and-potatoes rock songs all suggest that the more refined delivery is part of a larger statement. Lyrical nods to repeating cycles and changing as time goes on also play into a sense of maturation that's reflected in the album's graceful sonics. shows still evolving and reaching for new expressions, even decades into a well-established style. The result of this envelope-pushing is one of their most nuanced and emotionally engaging albums in years, arriving at a different kind of immediacy than can be achieved with loud guitars and angsty hooks. ~ Fred Thomas