After starting out as skewed, spectral indie rockers, Helium have evolved into astral-projecting voyagers who sound like they've been inhaling more than helium. The Magic City features the band's usual ragged arrangements and Mary Timony's trademark breathy vocals, but the album is also imbued with a rainbow of otherworldly keyboards and sprawling rhythms that recall space explorers like Can and Nektar. On "Leon's Space Song," New Wave synthesizers reminiscent of the Cars' squiggle through abrupt guitar stabs and a hypnotic beat, and on "Medieval People," a delicate harpsichord melody contrasts strikingly with ominous, buzzing keyboards and exploding-bomb sounds. With The Magic City, Helium have discovered a strange new world where progressive isn't always synonymous with pompous. (RS 771)

JON WIEDERHORN