Having whet appetites with the previous fall's
Last Quarter of the 20th Century Blues teaser EP -- two out of five tracks repeat here -- this D.C. quartet's sophomore LP proves even better as a bigger meal. Creative artist types who won't be pinned down,
Bellflur prefer the Voyager I-ready space rock of "Brief Physics" and "We Are on Ghost Ships," but fluently pivot to art-damaged rock with lullaby harmonies, atmospheric neo-
Pink Floyd numb-outs, trance-inducing, pointed post-punk and pasty post-rock, and even the uptempo, neo-shoegaze crash and burn of "Fits and Starts and Stops." From the cover's loud, busy, psychedelic collage to their prog-lite structures, they are impenitent art rockers, but swooping violins (from
Exit Clov's Hsu sisters), trumpet, bells, robot synths, and
Doves/
Radiohead/
Curve-like vocals are actually ear-friendly -- sinewy, bright, and beautiful. ~ Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover