Lenses Alien

After a well-received and ambitious debut in 2009 with Why There Are Mountains, New York City’s Cymbals Eat Guitars return with the greatly varied follow-up Lenses Alien. It’s impossible to quantify exactly what these folks are up to. Each track suggests a wide range of influences and impulses. But at the music’s heart are an engaging sense of melody and a dramatic interpretation of instrumentation. Frontman Joseph D’Agostino works conversational terrain and unashamed pop with “Definite Darkness,” that features the kind of joy one associates with the Shins and Death Cab For Cutie alongside a wall of sound not uncommon to the Cure. “The Current” broods with an elevated sense of danger. “Wavelengths” is a surprisingly straightforward pop tune, with a keen determination to still explore an assortment of textures. The Cure’s Robert Smith is further evoked during the overwhelming sonic waves in the midst of the sublime “Secret Family.” These are intricate songs, with challenging lyrics to match, but never too complicated to simply enjoy.