Nowadays, music genres rise and fall in popularity on a yearly, if not monthly, basis. There was a time when Texas’ Neon Indian was the vanguard of “chillwave,” named for its dreamy synthwork layered around deliciously nebulous vocals. The group’s debut Psychic Chasms—which did much to establish the movement—was applauded by hipsters and critics alike.

But two years can be a long time. While contemporaries like Washed Out and Toro y Moi sharpened and expanded their sounds to dizzying effects, Neon Indian’s sophomore effort Era Extraña seems more like a reactionary response. It’s murkier and less lucid, though not without moments of nostalgic brilliance. Standout “Polish Girl” features a simple but irresistible riff looping over flaring synth lines. “Future Sick” puts Palermo’s whispy vocals on top of lurching, glittering arrangements. The titular “Era Extraña” cuts through the synth haze of previous tracks with a spacious and  grandiose delivery.  

Yet these few tracks all share a mere comparability with Neon Indian’s brilliant debut disc. The rest of Era Extraña either embodies directionless blips and beeps (“Suns Irrupt”) or overdoses on fuzzy din (“The Blindside Kiss”). Much of the disc is schizophrenic rather than psychedelic.  

This shouldn’t set Neon Indian back indefinitely, but for a band that was at the pinnacle of experimental sound, Era Extraña lacks the artistic vigour to hurdle the sophomore slump, let alone revolutionize a genre as they had done before.