CRYSTAL ANTLERS

Two-Way Mirror

myspace.com/crystalantlers

Given their punk roots, Crystal Antlers were surprised by the prog-rock comparisons that greeted their excellent 2009 debut, Tentacles. The follow-up is bound to draw more, as the California quintet expands on its Doors-do-hardcore psychedelic thrash, trying sun-bleached pop on “Way Out” and way-out rock on “Sun-Bleached.” On “Summer Solstice” the band manages mellow beach music without sounding like the surf-pop revivalists crowding the indie scene. Elsewhere, the default sound remains strike-and-recoil guerilla garage. Rather than steamroll ahead, these songs bunch and buckle with drum rolls, searing organ riffs and singer Jonny Bell’s harshest syllables hitting in unison. It’s not pure prog, but it sure sounds like progress.