3 out of 5

Label: 30th Century Records

Produced by: BOOTS

Behind their most arresting cover art and album name lies their most confident – though perhaps too confident, lacking in immediacy – release by this decade+ aged band.  Confidence doesn’t have to equal looseness or brashness, though, as Pussy’s Dead bristles just fine without T-Bone Burnett’s crunchy production (from their debut) or the more emotive nuances and outbursts of sophomore release Transit Transit: the disc is slick, electronic, riffs and rushes smoothed out but in a way conducive to ‘lux’s already smooth sound.

The duo of openers – SelectAllCopy and Soft Scene – are perfect scene setters, settling calmly into their rolling beats and catchy rhythms, Eugene Goreshter leading one and Carla Azar the other, the crooning and bopping sides to this very shiny, weighty coin.  As we get deeper into the disc, we build toward the poppier intensity of the middle tracks, but it’s also where we hit on a hitch of inspiration: this is Autolux on cruise control, delivering excellence without a skip in their step and not straying too far outside comfort lines.

At album’s end we rediscover some rawness through some comparatively lighter tracks, valuably sharpening the lasting impression of the disc.

Pussy’s Dead isn’t exactly the blast of Turnstyle Blues or the mature return of Transit; it is an incredibly resolved album, set to be what it wants to be, which probably makes the most sense for a seasoned group who seem in no rush (three albums in twelve years…!) to put out excess material.  It’s a sharp listen, certain to get your head bobbing and keep you lush in Autolux vibes, though it might sit last in the replay list behind their other two discs.