Cymbals Eat Guitars – Lenses Alien (Barsuk)

Cymbals Eat Guitars certainly had their work cut out for them on their sophomore record after their sterling debut, Why There Are Mountains, simply blew up, making the band indie darlings. Now signed to a label, Joseph D’Agostino and company didn’t rest on their laurels as they have risen to the challenge, armed with a Bradford Cox-like sonic complexity swirled with pop elements that would make The Shins jealous. Opening track, “Rifle Eyesight (Proper Name)”, is just brilliant and nearly twice as long as any other song on the album. “Keep Me Waiting,” is as close as Cymbals come to a straight ahead rocker and it serves as a nice pace change. Speaking of, this album slows down and speeds up and varies volume, sometimes several times mid-song, like a child going from a sugar high to a crash. That variety makes the album a more challenging but very rewarding listen, and one that I am destined to repeat. In what is a true rarity in the always more MP3-driven music business, there is absolutely no filler. The closest thing to a misstep is “The Current,” which goes by so fast that it is really not much more than an interlude from “Another Tunguska,” (which is far superior to the b-side from WTAM, “Tunguska,”) to “Wavelengths,”. From top to bottom, CEG have created a more diverse and more refined album than their debut. Most importantly, it is even more pleasing to the ears. An instant favorite.