Lymbyc Systym

Lymbyc Systym

Taking cues from the Postal Service, brothers Mike and Jared Bell took a piecemeal approach to Lymbyc Systym's latest, Shutter Release, exchanging ideas and recordings from their home bases in Austin and Brooklyn, respectively. That collaborative process adds some serious weight and density to the duo's third LP, which expands upon 2007's Love Your Abuser in every regard. That's thanks in part to contributions from San Marcos' This Will Destroy You, neoclassicists Slow Six, and Austin's Balmorhea, most notably in the banjo-assisted nostalgia of "T-ball" and "Bedroom Anthem," which swells unexpectedly from a beat-assisted acoustic guitar melody to a climax of horns and drums. The sweeping opener "Trichromatic" and rushing title track transcend the laptop post-rock tag, while the dreamy "Interiors" and "Kubrick" filter sparse piano, percussion, and xylophone through the magnetic ambience of the Western Vinyl canon, the latter adding shimmering guitar feedback. That melding of electronic and acoustic is the key to Shutter Release, an album rich with kitchen-sink-included instrumental Polaroids that slowly develop and reveal their narrative streak.