The grandiose title betrays an even greater (purported) mythology: New York/Portland psych-rockers Akron/Family claim to have written their fifth album in a cabin built into the base of Mount Meakan, an active Japanese volcano. But whether they really trekked to Hokkaido or just decamped in Williamsburg with some 7-Eleven sushi, the record is a ruminant, volatile effort that befits such a lurid legend. Less bucolic than 2009’s Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free, Akron/Family II shifts disquietingly from atonally screamed group chants and acidic guitars ("Fuji 1 (Global Dub)") to gentle, phosphorescent ballads celebrating nature and light ("Canopy"). The uniting thread is the labyrinthine structure and a tangible sense of adventure.

Listen to "Silly Bears":

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“Ambling Alp”

The "Ambling Alp" was the nickname of the six-and-a-half-foot-tall Primo Carnera. Though the song is named after the Italian-born 1930s heavyweight champion, Yeasayer are actually paying tribute to boxing legend Joe Louis with this first-person psychedelic dance-rock tune. “I was always interested in writing a song that had boxing mythology in it,” Yeasayer’s Chris Keating said. “It’s pretty fascinating: There were so many amazing characters, and it was so closely entwined with 20th century history.” Yeaseyer also invokes German champ Max Schmeling and hints at the historical significance placed on the historic bouts between the Nazi-era boxer and the African-American Louis.