The album’s searing, swirling guitar riffs lay pinned to defiant bass grooves and drum loops, moving from pretty, tempered aggression (opener “Diving Lessons,” “Holland”) to more edgy, snarling anthems (“Runner,” “Stop Your Pulse”).
Early on, Power Pyramid establishes a formula that it refuses to deviate far from, but like Beach House smothered in cigarette smoke, the slight differences in each song’s treatment only serve to form a more complete, dizzying immersion — a sort of perpetual state of beautiful, musical déjà vu. Plus, it makes the more diverse arrangements (the standout, mid-album pair “Khef” and “Deadlights”) all the more electrifying.
The songs stay true to the band’s assumed, tried-and-true influences (My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive), but there’s an infectiousness to be found and enjoyed throughout, owing to the faint hip-hop stylings of a Tycho or Flying Lotus (especially in “Maturin” and “Ask”).
The God Drums is a smart, unassuming record — an album that’s not only worth a listen from shoegaze diehards but is also a perfect entry point for newcomers.
The album is available as a free download at powerpyramid.bandcamp.com.
Catch Power Pyramid live at 8:30 p.m. Sunday at The Conservatory, 8911 N. Western Ave., with Is/Is and Sonic Violence. — Joshua Boydston
