Minks – ‘By The Hedge’

Though it arrives with less fanfare than the like-minded debuts of Yuck or Wild Nothing, MINKS’ By the Hedge might be the best of the lot — it’s certainly the most ambitious. In 37 minutes, it spans My Bloody Valentine shoegaze (“Kusmi,” “Bruises”), fractured Deerhunter art-pop (“Out of Tune”), The Cure New Wave (“Ophelia”) and, gloriously, C86 jangle (song of the year contender “Cemetery Rain”) with equal ability. I’m making easy references, but By the Hedge brings the New York band’s influences (all basically varieties of ’80s pop fuzz anyway) under one shimmering roof. Like Wild Nothing’s debut, it’s a fine example of how revivalism can use the past to push forward — and a much-needed slap to the current wave of eBay keyboardists who forgot to write songs before hiring publicists. “Oh, something to believe in,” indeed.

MINKS – Cemetary Rain

(By the Hedge is out today on Captured Tracks)