Tentacles

iTunes Review

Nearly a year after releasing an impressive, self-titled, debut EP, Southern California’s Crystal Antlers return with their first full length. Clearly unafraid to be tagged as “excessive,” the sextet take their sound out even further, tinting their aggressive punk-psych sound with vestiges of prog rock, pushing guitar arpeggios (there are two guitarists) and signature changes right up front with the howling, garage-rooted keyboards. Tentacles is fourteen tracks of tightly-wound, hard-edged psych that falls more into the speed freak camp than the stoner camp, with enough variation to keep your head from splitting open. Scorchers like “Dust” and “Tentacles” nudge up against a hazy “Vapor Trail” and a skittering and playful “Painless Sleep.” “Andrew” shifts tempo, moving from a slightly hyped number, with roiling drums and searing guitars, to a bluesy plea from vocalist Johnny Bell, his hoarse voice scraping the bottom for just a little bit more. “Until the Sun Dies, Pt. 1” is of course, a follow-up to “Until the Sun Dies, Part 2,” a thrilling four-minute assault from their EP; here’s it’s a shape-shifting tune with many colors. Sometimes less isn’t more.