Tentacles

Six months after an enormous amount of blog buzz championed their EP, Crystal Antlers release their first full-length, Tentacles, a debut that largely lives up to all the surrounding hype championing the group as one of the hottest new indie up-and-comers. This time forgoing the engineering prowess of Mars Volta producer Ikie Owens, the sextet members opt to produce the record themselves, resulting in a brittle, sonically noisy affair - one that practically begs to be cranked. With Victor Rodriguez's Farfisa organ front and center, neck and neck with Jonny Bell's wild howling, Crystal Antlers' prog tendencies become more evident, and their slanted arpeggio melodies seem even more skewed, making them as difficult as ever to pin down, even if they are more refined. Chaotic feedback and frantic drum fills feed the fiery "Dust," "Time Erased," and "Your Spears" in an adrenalized rage, and these aggressive, urgent songs are balanced out by mesmerizing instrumentals and partly psychedelic, weirdly bluesy pseudo-ballads. "Andrew" fits the unlikely combo of blues and psych together wonderfully, in what might be the band's most unlikely crossover, and "Glacier" spirals down descending scales while simultaneously bucking like a stallion to alternating time signatures that, despite a spasmodic nature, somehow make for a soothing ride. ~ Jason Lymangrover, All Music Guide