Mixing dense feedback and ghostly noises with jangly hooks and three-part harmonies, this quartet reveals the more joyous sides of shoegazing and psychedelia. A cycle of circusy synths whirl throughout the opening track, “Good Feelings”, for an effect that recalls Philip Glass by way of Animal Collective. Meanwhile, “Drunk Kids” and “All Night Outside” combine the drone of Deerhunter with the layered pop of the Beach Boys. Such influences notwithstanding, perhaps, a better way to consider Light Pollution is by looking at the name of the band itself. Aside from its most immediate connotations, the conjunction of “light” and “pollution” and, for that matter, the title of the record, Apparitions, point to the proliferation of something scary, deadening, and dark — all of which has been paradoxically paired with the image of a bright, white, warm glow. The publicity notes accompanying the album report that it was produced “over the course of a long, stoned, agoraphobic winter spent isolated in a heatless warehouse west of Chicago”, which indubitably sounds bleak. Listening to the finished product, however, we can plainly see that “Good Feelings” have prevailed — the dreary and upsetting turn dreamy and uplifting on this debut.

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After the jump, check out the video for “Drunk Kids”. Buy this at Other Music or iTunes.