OH:IO

Though Bearsuit have been active since 2001, Oh: Io is only their second proper album. (2005's Team Ping Pong was a compilation of single and EP tracks.) Six years on, the band's dizzying blend of influences, from Deerhoof-like hyperactive noise-rock spazz-outs ("Jupiter Force (Recruitment Video)," "Dinosaur Heart") to horn-driven new wavish pop with male/female vocals ("More Soul Than Wigan Casino," oddly reminiscent of Dexys Midnight Runners circa Searching for the Young Soul Rebels) to lush semi-orchestral twee pop like a more energetic version of Belle & Sebastian (album highlight "Steven F***ing Spielberg") makes as little logical sense as ever. And yet the seven-piece, multi-instrumentalist collective somehow manage to cohere their disparate influences just enough to make Oh: Io an often thrilling and only occasionally exasperating listen. At times, the band veers a little too far towards incoherent noise, especially when keyboardist and singer Lisa Horton starts shrieking at the top of her range, but most songs on Oh: Io are a little more carefully structured than the band's early efforts, with a stronger focus on arrangements and orchestration than before on songs like the impressively over the top sci-fi chamber pop "Miss IO Must Not Fail" and the brash, spunky dance-rock of "Foxy Boxer." Fans of similarly eclectic acts like Envelopes, Family Fodder, or Architecture in Helsinki will find much to enjoy here. ~ Stewart Mason|