Abby Go Go: Abby Go Go

It’s not quite appropriate to pigeonhole Abby Go Go as a shoegazer band, and the garage rock shoe doesn’t fit, either. Rather, twin brothers Bon and Jon Allinson and company traverse an expansive middle ground where ’60s pop sensibilities are tempered by elusive feelings of melancholy and elation. The grinding intonations of every guitar tone and distant voice are captured with clarity, illustrating jagged sonic textures that serve the long bouts of repetition in “Louder Than Dreams” and “Come On,” rather than dirtying them up. Each song streamlines the group’s sound without compromising how much a crest of feedback and distortion can underscore the strung-out sense of beauty evoked. “Glass” is an instant heartbreaker, with layers of slurred melody and ill-defined nostalgia that defies the murky nature of such influences as Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine. There’s good variety as well, which is hard to pull off when you’re lost in the grooves of such deep cuts. (4 out of 5 stars)