Scatter

Between their early singles and Scatter, Crushed Beaks made some big strides. The previously guitar-and-drums duo added bassist Scott Bowley to the fold, and recorded the songs that would become their debut album in Rome at film composer Fabio Frizzi's studio. Scatter is a beautiful-sounding album: Matthew Poile's alternately sparkling and storming guitars are never less than alluring — particularly on the sweeping opener "April" — while Alex Morris' drums are satisfyingly propulsive. The band's newfound gloss could have dampened its energy, but Crushed Beaks still throw sparks on "Rising Sign," where the churning sounds around Poile as he sings "I'm coming around to the idea, my dear" vividly capture emotions in flux. Likewise, the way they balance shoegaze atmosphere and rambunctious indie rock on "Overgrown" recalls the balancing act Bloc Party performed on Silent Alarm a decade before; while Crushed Beaks are more wound-up than that band, Poile's vocals also recall Kele Okereke (as well as Damon Albarn) at his yelpiest. At its best, Scatter's luxurious noise-pop offers some intriguing contradictions — not the least of which is how a band who claims horror auteur Dario Argento as an influence sounds so breezy.