Speak It Not Aloud

On Del Rey's first long-player, timing in at a sleek half hour, the band forges a sound whose fluidity is matched only by its attention to structure. Opener "Jet Above Water" begins with the sound of just that before entering the realm of duel drum kits and a guitar and bass barrage that's subtly angular and improvisationally cerebral in the Chicago instrumental post-rock tradition. A conga drum track enters at about the four-minute point, accompanying the kit drums' rhythmic spread into oblivion. As the album proceeds, one song melds into the next, via synthetic space-outs or not, as layers of loops and patterns are butted against silence and white noise. On "Gone Country," they reach for the treble and create a rhythmic agitation that wanders skyward before making its way to an abrupt resolve. And standout "D.C. Snaxter" is crisp and loping as it pulsates and spirals in on itself, never really reaching a breaking point but instead burrowing a cathartic den.