Like their sonic forebears The Smiths, The Drums have a signature move of mixing sweet and sour: their mostly morose lyrics ride over a bed of deceptively cheery indie pop. Following the success of 2011's lovely Portmanteau, the band toured heavily and lost one of their members in the process. Encyclopedia is the product of founding members Jonathan Pierce and Jacob Graham holing themselves up in a cabin in upstate New York, which might explain its shut-in quality. It's a gloomy record, almost gothic, with songs like "Let Me" and "Face of God" evoking Joy Division's somber drone, and others such as "I Can't Pretend" and "Bell Laboratories" exploring languid rhythms and gossamer textures. The smirking pep of previous releases shows up in tracks like "Kiss Me Again," but Encyclopedia is better suited to rainy days than sunny ones.