(Friendly Fire Recordings)

www.friendlyfirerecordings.com

To hear their label tell it, they're chasing the spirit of '70s radio pop on House of Tongues. And yet, if you actually listened to radio pop in the '70s, you'd know they come off sounding closer to the dream-pop-flavored side of modern indie - which is not a bad thing.

Guitarist Sean Eden of Luna may have brought a good deal of that dream pop flavor to the table, but Renee LoBue's seductive vocal quirks have done more to define Elk City's sound, whether they're working a rootsier angle with spooky organ on a lead-off track called "Real Low Riders" or getting arty and dramatic at the same time on the post-punk-flavored "Wire Goats." You'd swear they hit their stride on the Lennonesque sleepwalk, "The Onion." Then, they change things up and completely mess with your perception of their strength with the transcendent indie-pop of "For the Uninitiated," which somehow manages to blend the best of Concrete Blonde, the Pixies, Pavement and Guided by Voices. 

Standout Track: "For the Uninitiated" A. WATT