Frequency in Stereo

In space no one can hear you be hip, thus it’s probably a blessing that the Low Frequency cultured its sound in Haugesund, Norway, likely as close to space as it gets. Despite the muffled, Unwound-like vocal production, the group can’t hide its bubble-radio training wheels. There’s fighting Norse blood in play, though, so we next get a taste of what the bandmates really want to be about — low-fi Doors-versus-surf-rock fuzz-buster jamming — in the two-minute “The Challenger,” in which the guitarist goes off like Hendrix. Though the album is already a tough-to-beat altie contender by the No-No’s-ish fourth song, the flagship title track is a ten-minute double-lead lava-lamp hurricane that’s an attention grabber no matter how many TVT records you’ve worn out. — Eric W. Saeger