Wildcat Apollo

Nineties shoegaze champions Ride and Lush now reunited, Wildcat Apollo's like-minded sophomore LP arrives auspiciously. The Brooklyn-formed foursome's eponymous 2013 debut ushered a dreamy, psychedelic amalgam, and My Bloody Valentine's influence on Melt Into the Ocean surfaces early via brooding noise-pop. Spacey instrumental "Intro" opens Gish-like, for its part. Soon enough, however, the danceable backbeats of Broken Social Scene's neo-psych swirl seep in. Through co-vocalist Cat Tassini's swooping vocals, "Red Roses" elicits Elizabeth Fraser's ethereal undercurrent. Later, leadoff single "Kaleidoscopic" gleams a cushy chorus, its buoyant bassline jaunty while ominous. "Lufaya" and "Extreme Fire" then decelerate tempo, their acoustic strums palliating arrangements' liberal layers. "Sin Beat" digests rhythmic as its title suggests, its electro backbeat thumping. Though lyrical themes wax oceanic, the propitious LP emanates mystically cosmic.