La La Land

Quirky, futuristic, reckless — all of these qualities fall in second place to one: vital. For Wax Fang’s second album, Scott Carney couldn’t have picked better pals than Jake Heustis and Kevin Ratterman to carry out the execution of this dreamworld put to sound. From the wormhole “Avant Guardian Angel Dust,” which fits anywhere in a live set, to the baroque-goth-carnival “Black & Endless Night Revisited,” “The Doctor Will See You Now,” and the volcanic alarm bell, “Wake Up, Sleepyhead,” La La Land is quite a place. Acclaim doesn’t arrive overnight, but the world will soon know why it needs this band.