Lockgroove

by Carly Carioli

Sonic alchemists of the highest order, Lockgroove write some of the most elastic, ebullient pop songs since Galaxie 500 and Spaceman 3, only louder -- swelling to absorb extraterrestrial drones and sweeping, dramatic tonal washes, or rocketing away to leave the ground spinning dizzyingly below. They've got an improvisatory streak that most pop bands -- if they tried, which they don't -- could match only in their most substance-abusive daydreams, and an unerring melodic compass that keeps them on course through the space-rock cosmos. In short, they're the most astounding rock band to emerge from Boston in quite some time.

Identical twin brothers Ryan (vocals, guitar) and Martin Rex (drums) moved to Boston from Pennsylvania and started recording on an eight-track in their basement in 1995, releasing a tape under the (since truncated) name Lockgroove Lullaby on which they played all the instruments. "People always ask us, 'Do you guys have musical telepathy?'," says Ryan. "We kind of do -- he's the one I don't have to say anything to, we don't even say anything to each other at the end of the show. I don't have to say anything to him because I know he rocked. I know he was with me the whole time."

Their just-released six-song EP, Rewired (Krave), shows off the band they formed around that initial vision -- keyboardist Daniel Finn, guitarist Adam Brilla, and bassist Dave Goodman. It's sensuous, lush, elemental, and sublimely beautiful -- check out the last track, "Traced in Fire," with just piano, acoustic guitar, and some subtle one-note blooping, for minimalist genius; and the five-minute "Come On" for epic, gale-force neo-psychedelia wherein the Velvets and Spaceman 3 are just touchstones in a wider, more ambitious game plan. And keep an eye out for their Deep Heaven mini-festivals, a series of multi-media events that bring the likes of Bardo Pond and Brother JT to town.