Connecticut's
Landing are often known for making expansive, unhurried soundscapes, sometimes turning up the distortion enough to resemble shoegaze, and even exploring pop and new wave influences on occasion, particularly on 2012's Landing and Wave Lair.
Bells in New Towns shifts the group's scope towards Krautrock and psychedelia, and while these certainly aren't new influences for the band, it's hard to recall a previous
Landing album that rocked out as much as this one. They balance muscular rhythms and crunchy distortion with the type of airy, blissful calm they've been known for, resulting in smoothly propulsive drone rock that doesn't seem like it's trailing off or meandering. Tracks like "Bright" and "Second Sight" directly reference the motorik rhythms and guitar licks of
Neu! and
Harmonia, but effortlessly blend them with vintage synth ripples and comforting, swirling guitar fuzz. The album's highlight is "Secret," which begins soft and sparkling before exploding into melancholy dream pop euphoria halfway through. Two interludes continue the group's long-running series of "Gravitational" ambient explorations, but these don't seem out of place among the album's more revved-up songs. Overall,
Bells in New Towns is easily one of
Landing's most exciting, enjoyable records. ~ Paul Simpson