This N.Y. (by way of Austria) band gave both Matador Records and Thrill Jockey their first releases, but that's not its only distinction. During its 1990s run, H.P. Zinker played a semi-ironic, wide-reaching style of psychedelic rock, the sort that never conformed to the trends of the day.

This much-hyped late-'80s/ early-'90s N.Y.C. ensemble injected new life into indie rock with a unique neo-psychedelic sound that won the band much critical acclaim and a string of releases on the hip indie labels Matador, Thrill Jockey, and Fire. On this outing, the trio (led by guitarist Hans Platzgumer, who later became a top electronica producer) sounds like a garage rock band hinting at a psychedelic/avant rock/progressive rock hybrid that floats somewhere in the murky dust of fuzz and distortion, just a step out of the group's reach. The sound is not dissimilar to early Dinosaur Jr. in its guitar-driven drone meltdown. The album's opener, "Invitation," sounds as though the trio is levitating on a cloud of retro-guitar sounds, and the impossible tempo shift of "Warzone City" reeks with tongue-in-cheek irony.

AMG review by Martin Walters