REVIEWS, ‘’

• SPIN Rating: of 10

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These dreamy Los Angeles rockers keep the guitars thick and gauzy on the follow-up to their 2006 debut, Carnavas, which recalled vintage Smashing Pumpkins more than the Pumpkins' own Zeitgeist did. But the Pickups also pile on the sophomore-album enhancements here, deepening a sound that scarcely wanted for depth beforehand; check out the shuddering string jabs on "The Royal We" (recalling Zeppelin's "Kashmir") and the outer-space synth flutters coursing through "Catch and Release." A trip best made with headphones.

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