Lower Dens

When “Brains,” the leadoff single from Lower Dens’ sophomore LP, Nootropics, was released back in January, the deceptively up-tempo track appeared to signal a departure from the Maryland outfit’s dream-pop M.O. But while the record touches on smoldering art rock, jittery postpunk and a few stops in between, it ultimately favors the band’s familiar hazy mood instead of exploring new matter. The album’s state of mind–head in the clouds, dodging reality–may bring to mind the work of a more prominent Baltimore act, boy-girl duo Beach House, but Lower Dens maintains a more edgy, chilly demeanor than its expansive counterpart.

Intentionally discordant harmonies create introspective tensions on Nootropics; sharp-angled guitar melodies are submerged in fuzzy swaths of synths, and pulsating rhythms throb under delicate melodies. Frontwoman Jana Hunter’s throaty, earthy voice ranges from androgyny to languid seductiveness; her elastic alto conveys everything and nothing, woozily unrolling words until they lose meaning, as her voice becomes another low-register instrument. The quintet deftly creates a brooding atmosphere that can be profoundly gorgeous at its frequent best, and nearly stagnant at its worst.—Marley Lynch

Support on Tuesday comes from new-folkster Matteah Baim, and local, bittersweetly nostalgic outfit Air Waves and Twisted Wires open on Wednesday.