Xuvetyn

The followup to Xuvetyn was even more of a mindblowing blast than Bloweyelashwish, 20 minutes longer and extending the spirit of that album's collision between brute feedback and serene sculpture in astounding directions. More sweetly fragile in points than before, but again never losing that sense of overpowering roar, however restrained at points, Lovesliescrushing created an album as inspired by metapop sprawl as more well-known efforts, like the Flaming Lips' Clouds Taste Metallic, for instance. Cortez here plays a jaw-dropping range of instruments, from any number of guitars — "prepared guitars," "taped guitars," "guitar damage" — to metal rulers, forks, and various "misc. devices." With Arpin handling the swooned, haunting vocals, echoing through the seemingly chaotic mix like a siren call from across a bottomless depth — "Flowered Smother" is a particularly grand example — the result is a swirling plunge into drowned sound extremities. While My Bloody Valentine remains an understandable comparison point, Lovesliescrushing is even more distinctly its own act than before, able to encompass the ear-piercing treble feedback snippet of "Aquan 1" to the blissful float of "Blooded and Blossom-Blown." That Cortez again recorded everything on four-track is just astounding; considering what lo-fi ended up being used as a label for, Xuvetyn bears as much relation to the hundreds of dull acoustic guitar/vocal tapes that flooded the indie world as filet mignon does to horsemeat hash. The sheer depth and range of the performances wouldn't matter if the music wasn't good, though, and the duo sound much more open to letting the gentlest of pop hooks more directly shape the thick rumble of sound. It wouldn't be Lovesliescrushing without some completely gone songs, though, and whether it's the aggressive bite and loop of "Staticburst" or the burrowing growl of "Monar," even the shortest songs can have maximum impact.