The Comas

The Comas

Conductor (Yep Roc)

Outer-space breakups are no picnic on the moon. Just radio Comas' "Hologram" Andy Herod, transmitting haplessly from zero gravity, catching no buzz from the "Moonrainbow." Nicole Gehweiler, Herod's trusty co-pilot, helps tow the wounded Conductor back to port, after trawling through the organic ethereality of Beachwood Sparks, acid-washed in Flaming Lips and powdered with Shins. Third LP's the charm for Chapel Hill, N.C.'s pop crop. The bombastic outro to "Oh God" and mangling bonus track ("I wanna be smoking what you're smoking …") collide worlds for good measure. Milky Way rawk. The whispering, eternal sunshine of opener "The Science of Your Mind," warm strings, synths, and things, floats into Gehweiler's girlie echo on follow-up "Moonrainbow," while the Britpop build-up/payoff of "Tonight on the WB" docks with two-minute fuzz bomb "Invisible Drugs." Like the dryer thump 'n' bump of "Employment," the rockers dip into the Fountains of Wayne. Centerpiece "Hologram" delivers on all three dimensions of its title, out of which ghostly rejoinder "Dirty South" drifts into waking numbness and tortured dreams. Gentle closer "Falling" ("when the sun thinks of the moon does the sky get jealous … ?") preps passengers for a bonus DVD, Conductor the Movie, which sadly, is strictly for the Tussinex crowd. Conductor the CD, on the other mechanical hand, will melt happily into your hard drive. (The Comas play Emo's March 3.)