Future Perfect

After tenures in overlooked '90s outfits like Ednaswap and Failure, the members of Los Angeles' Autolux joined forces. The fruits of their labor have yielded Future Perfect, an album that triumphs as it defies expectations. Meshing the guitar blur of the shoegazer movement (Lush, My Bloody Valentine, Pale Saints) with traces of indie rock royalty (Sonic Youth, Ivy), it's hardly what you might expect producer T-Bone Burnett to stand behind. But the trio excels as it thumbs its nose at the new wave revival movement of the early 21st century via the hypnotic "Sugarless," the lilting and riff-sturdy "Trigger," and the menacing whirl of "Blanket." If the aforementioned numbers highlight Greg Edwards' guitar antics and bassist/vocalist Eugene Goreshter's twee vocal approach, the band's secret weapon is drummer Carla Azar, who is not just skilled behind the kit. Azar's pipes sound eerily similar to Kim Deal's Pixies efforts on "Angry Candy" and "Here Comes Everybody," which are arguably the band's finest moments.