You might expect this London quintet’s self-titled album to be a lo-fi noise-fest of screams and punk rock clatter. But this is some of the most tuneful, controlled rock songwriting you’re likely to hear all year. Frontman/songwriter Daniel Blumberg has an ear for nostalgic mid-’90s guitar euphoria — strummy, weepy rhythm guitars are draped in big bouquets of phaser and distortion while lead parts sting with a psychedelic wallop the likes of which haven’t been heard since Siamese Dream. Blumberg and Co. know their alt-rock history, rotating between big, wall-of-effects rockers (“Get Away,” “Holing Out”) and gorgeous, surprisingly clean ballads with a flair for unexpected melodies (“Shook Down,” “Suicide Policeman”). “Stutter” is a shoegaze marvel; electric guitars zoom by like slow-motion jets over billowing clouds. Then you’re shocked back to life by “Operation”’s squawking fuzz chords and snarling vocals. Yum.
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