The Black Angels

Comfortable in their fascination for fuzz, the Doors and phosphenes, the Black Angels cloak their second album in more 1960s couture. With just as many twiddles of the drone machine, twists of the reverb knob and shakes of the maraca as their debut, the Austin quintet don't grow much here; their zeal for pedals and knobs ("Science Killer") can at times conceal their potential. But when they hit a groove that balances Stephanie Bailey's thrashing rhythms with the brooding pain in Alex Maas' baritone ("Mission District," "Snake in the Grass"), it's easy to turn on, tune in and drone out.