The Paisley Underground comes home to roost on the first full-length from Surly Gates. Like that long-gone Cali conclave, Lay Low spotlights squarely on the songs, letting acid-fried colored gels give the tracks their strange sheen. Fronting traditional rock tropes and creamy harmonies, “Wicked Lover” and “Under Your Tongue” rely equally on melody and muscle, while “Catatonia” and the title track spin winsome pop skeins. “Growl” enters enigmatic ballad territory, slowly unfolding its journey into mystery. Singing guitarists Jonathan Lennartz and Rusty Boyer field most of the heavy work, but it’s organist James Webber pulling the tracks into a parallel dimension. Ghosts of trips past.

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This article appears in April 22 • 2016.

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Michael Toland started writing about music in 1988 on the Gulf Coast, moved to Austin in early 1991, and has inflicted bylines upon the corporeal and digital pages of Pop Culture Press, The Big Takeover, Blurt, Amplifier, Austin.citysearch, the Austin American Statesman, Goldmine, Sleazegrinder, Rock & Roll Globe, High Bias, FHT Music Notes, and, since 2011, The Austin Chronicle.