Radiant Door

After already releasing one great album, In Love with Oblivion, that cemented their place as one of the better garage-noise-psych bands around in 2011, Crystal Stilts returned with an EP near the end of the year that certainly did nothing to affect that standing. Radiant Door was put out by Sacred Bones and featured five tracks that range from songs that have the same spooky, reverb-heavy vibe and rhythmic punch of the album ("Dark Eyes," the title track) to a haunted ballad that conjures up (and borrows a guitar part from) the Velvet Underground ("Frost Inside the Asylum") and two very well-chosen covers: the first is a rollicking and loose version of the Blue Orchids' "Low Profile"; the second is a twangly take on the Lee Hazlewood-penned Sanford Clark song "Still as the Night" that proves vocalist Brad Hargett could have a second career as a crooner of country death ballads. He should stick to reverb psych-pop, though, since he's got a really good thing going there. Radiant Door may not be an essential purchase, but it's both a nice reminder of why Crystal Stilts are so good and a nice placeholder for their next album. ~ Tim Sendra