Mitochondria

"The few people that took notice when The Postmodern Prometheus released their debut LP, Lilt, likely expected something completely different from what they got with Mitochondria.  Lilt was a sort of alien visceral nightmare, full of feedback and screaming, so it was a surprise when The Postmodern Prometheus unveiled a pop record as their sophomore LP.  It's true that Mitochondria is a lot more accessible than Lilt was, and it follows a lot more traditions of rock and pop than the band was known for, but it's hard to be upset about any of that considering that they've made a genuinely great pop record.  While Mitochondria lacks the otherworlldly uniqueness of Lilt's consistent sound, it makes up for it with Mark Agerholm's most adventurous songwriting yet.  Along with the album's centerpiece, the ten-minute epic, 'Turbines,' the band cruises seamlessly across genres and styles, often playing in two or more of them simultaneously.  You'll hear funk, metal, reggae, prog, krautrock, Middle Eastern, and dance throughout the entire record, though the style of Agerholm's songwriting remains familiar enough to tie it all together (save for a disappointing volume drop on the last two tracks).  Lilt had a reckless sound full of frequent odd time changes, while Mitochondria focuses much more on the group's krautrock side.  Most of Mitochondria plays in common time with a pristinely electronic sugarcoating, but Agerholm's songwriting is actually at its best when adhering to the pop format.  The more experimental tracks might naturally be off-putting to some, but they aren't loud and wild here like they were on Lilt.  Rather, the experimental sections of Mitochondria are often more concerned with the beauty of their textures and chords than driving riffs and avant garde noisemaking.  'Point Your Tendrils to the Sky,' written with the passing of Agerholm's father, is likely the band's most moving track, mixing the repetition of krautrock with a crushingly beautiful orchestra of alien string instruments.  Many of these tracks represent the band at its finest, and if not for some problems with the production's consistency, this might have been their best album.  As it is, Mitochondria is at least their best collection of individual songs.