No Light

As evidenced by the cover art and similarly quirky song titles, the Auckland, New Zealand, indie quintet The Naked and Famous pick up on their new EP (No Light) right where their preceding one (This Machine) left off. This time around there’s a noticeable difference from the opening tune, “Dadada,” where the band injects heavy guitar distortion in the flavor of Queens of the Stone Age and Eagles of Death Metal. But under this six-string static the band’s penchant for post-punk-tinged electro-pop still thrives. The rougher edge seems to have rubbed off on singer Alisa Xayalith, who inflects here with a tougher approach on par with Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Xayalith’s coy and playful approach resurfaces on the following “Birds,” where Thom Powers’ collage of multi-instrumental textures adds palpable dimension without taking away from the tune’s grappling pop hooks. Xayalith sings through some dirty distortion on “Cheek,” where those futuristic-sounding garage-rock guitars return with a vengeance as they crumble under their own buzz and fuzz. “Part 2” boast the catchiest melodies here.