Major Stars + Times New Viking

Major Stars

Guitarists Kate Biggar and Wayne Rogers have been making music together since the late ’80s. Through three bands—first Crystalized Movements (which Rogers started in his teens), then Magic Hour and now as Major Stars—these Boston-area shimmer twins have kept to a reliable formula: Find a sturdy rhythm section to support their solar-flare leads (Rogers) and keening sheets of noise (Biggar), and create unfailingly intense and melodic psychedelic rock.

Before making their fifth album, the new Syntoptikon (Twisted Village/Important), the Stars reconfigured; bassist Tom Leonard became the third guitarist, Sandra Barrett (of reprobate rockers LA Drugs) took over vocal duties from Rogers and a new rhythm section assumed the position. Biggar and Rogers have always played with a fierceness that placed them well beyond mere psych-revivalism, but the resulting sextet is surpassingly dominant. The moment before immersing himself in a body-convulsing, minutes-long solo, Rogers, as if with the last thought before entering a trance, will clear an area to move in, and then use it all. Biggar flings herself around; Barrett will be seen in dozens of places throughout a Stars set. This tendency to roam may be partly why the band prefers basements to clubs; at Cake Shop they’ll find a cozy medium.

Columbus trio Times New Viking is a worthy successor to its city’s tradition of lowest-fi rock. The band’s new Dig Yourself (on the revitalized Siltbreeze label) shoves unmistakable pop melodies through layers of dirt and distortion to reach a singularly ragged glory.—Mike Wolf