Roots and Crowns

Roots & Crowns is the sound of a pawn shop coming to life after dark, an avant-folk symphony of creaky floorboards and short-circuiting gadgetry. But drowsy-voiced frontman Tim Rutili keeps his cool as everything around him goes bump in the night: On “Pink & Sour”, he unleashes a cavalcade of buzzing guitars and swirling synths over a rumbling West African groove, all while cooing smooth harmonies. And on “The Orchids”, he delivers a hymn-like reading of a Psychic TV song amid a surreal psychedelic soundscape.