Skeleton by Abe Vigoda

LA residents Abe Vigoda originate from the same scene that birthed No Age and Mika Miko, though these guys really aren't sharing their sound with anyone. The entire album seems to be coated in a strange, roomy reverb, which only heightens the sense of melodious disjointedness that's something of a theme on the album. The hyperactive highlife-influenced punk of 'Bear Face' finds the stringed instruments in dire need of agreeing on a tuning, particularly given how elaborately interlocked the guitar parts are, but somehow the awkward harmonizing is pretty essential to the character of the music, and persists over tracks like 'Cranes' and 'Endless Sleeper', which make a virtue out of discord in the pursuit of a decent hook. Elsewhere, 'Live-Long' is a more direct hit, thrashing around chords in a comparatively simplified fashion, relying on weird drum rhythms for the implied instability the group seem to require.