Akron/Family

Like the Flaming Lips tripping with the Butthole Surfers and listening to Nick Drake albums, this Brooklyn quartet makes quirky, folk-inflected art rock, similar in mood to that of Devendra Banhart, who also got his start on Michael (The Swans, Angels of Light) Gira's Young God Records. While many songs tumble lazily through odd noises, samples and tape effects, the Family expresses more of a pop bent than many of its freak-folk peers. Like with Banhart, there is an odd, almost claustrophobic intimacy at times, but Akron/Family also shares the Lips' penchant for morphing dreamy, meandering folk numbers into majestic, orchestral pop epics. The group follows up last year's self-titled debut by teaming with Gira on a new album that delves deeper into both the pretty pop and swirling, skronk-folk directions.