Bay area garage rock shapeshifter churned out more and more different types of songs in the four-year space between his 2008 beginnings and his fifth album, , than most acts do in their entire lifespans. In between constant touring and seemingly endless split 7"s and compilation tracks, managed to release two other collaborative full-lengths in 2012 leading up to this wholly solo affair but predicting yet another shift in his restless sound. From the start there's been a core of lo-fi garage basics intrinsic to 's constant output, with possessed guitars and often-times masked vocals terrorizing burly, bubblegum punk whose melodies have drawn ceaseless comparisons to the equally gnarled work of deceased powerhouse songwriter . 2011's critically acclaimed was something of a reflective breather, however, insomuch as is capable of slowing down. Moderate tempos and downer tunes filled up the record, adding equal parts of influence to the growing amount of -era -inspired tunes. A split release with like-minded lo-fi maven in early 2012 hinted at the psychedelic sheen that fully arrives on . The album's 12 tracks are some of the spaciest and grooviest that has turned in to date, with hand-clapping, falsetto crooners like "Love Fuzz" approaching some kind of demented take on glam, while "You're the Doctor" marries hyperactive pop melodies to a fried garage stomp. Without ever losing 's distinct songwriting character, stealthily goes all over the map. The changes in atmosphere show up most glaringly when he dips out of / worship for more hippie-infused flare. "The Hill" opens with some mantra-like chanting female vocals before exploding into a blast of fuzz guitar somewhere between 's and early explorations by . The album is stretched between this kind of heaviness, which resurfaces on the monolithic "Handglams" and the slightly more even-tempered hippy-leaning fare like the acoustic-based "Gold On the Shore." Somewhere in the middle is 's signature garage pop rattle, but offers it up at its most varied, most coherent best. While it's likely that his next record will be on a different page completely, is a bright moment in a nearly ceaseless evolution, and one of the most fluid and successfully ambitious in 's catalog. ~ Fred Thomas