21st Century Seance

Seattle-based alternative rock combo Green Pajamas managed to stay below the mainstream radar for decades, but it didn't stopped them from releasing enough music to warrant at least a small plaque in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for sheer tenacity. Their characteristically atmospheric and genre-bending 21st Century Séance relies on all of the positives and negatives that have made the group so polarizing over the years. Lyrically sound and musically adventurous, the Pajamas have always managed to win you over in the end, but their penchant for productivity often exposes a kitchen sink that's falling apart from years of being thrown into the mix. Two strong pieces, the Jesus and Mary Chain-meets-Redd Kross splendor of "Secret of Bethany's Mouth" and the Mark Lanegan-meets-R.E.M. tale of woe "Jenny V." open the record, but for an album that's essentially a song cycle built around nostalgia for broken hearts, it's a lot to swallow. As always, the quality moments eclipse the stagnant ones, with highlights coming from the haunting "Clare," the road-trip-ready "Gazelle," the dusk-heavy "Haunted Hill," which features a brilliant keyboard loop that rides a half-beat behind, and "Alibi," a dramatic ballad that screams for the end credits of an HBO series.