High Frontier

Bay Area psych rockers Lumerians sharpen their sound somewhat on second full-length The High Frontier, peeling out of the gate with highly focused production and a palette of styles that turns on a dime from buzzing space rock to icy post-punk influences. Starting off with the fiery, distorted organ of "Dogon Genesis," the band sounds like a considerably more sober and less bleary-eyed Spacemen 3. The droning, driving rock gives way to some of the same Broadcast and Clinic influences of their first album, Transmalinnia, especially on the distant pop of songs like "The Bloom." Unlike earlier work, The High Frontier branches out into much more unexpected meshings of styles, as with the confusing yet enjoyable blend of disco vocoder vocals, no-wave rhythms, and fuzzy Middle Eastern-flavored guitar lines on "Koman Tong." ~ Fred Thomas