REVIEWSPterodactyl, ‘Spills Out’

6

• SPIN Rating:6 of 10

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Release Date: November 15, 2011
Label: Brah

These psych-lite Brooklynites dip into the darker stuff a couple times on their third album, but the nauseous swirl of "Thorn" and the tonally flat "Allergy Shots" don't really suit them. It's only when Pterodactyl embrace their underlying pop core and ratchet up the jangle -- see the breezy "The Break" or the '60s sunburst "Searchers" -- that Spills Out makes an effective splash. The band's contemporaries (label bosses Oneida, in particular) explore uncertain gloom more effectively; these guys should stick to the sunny side of that street.