!!! - Myth Takes

These last few weeks have been really prolific in comeback records and, with a few rare exceptions (like "Some Loud Thunder" by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and, most of all, the new lifeless and uninspired "Pocket Symphony" by Air), I can't say that I've been disappointed. Now considering that "Louden Up Now", the previous release by !!! (commonly known as "Chk Chk Chk"), was the seminal album of the New-York-based punk-funk revival that took place a few years ago, to say that "Myth Takes" doesn't disappoint is quite a compliment. What's even more surprising and fascinating is that, even though we can easily recognize its sound as coming from !!!, this record has an identity of its own, one that easily distinguishes itself from "Louden Up Now". Denser and with a fuller and grander sound, "Myth Takes" is basically an unstoppable psychedelic party, full of various references all put together in an enormous virtuous cauldron, making it virtually impossible to resist diving into its infectious waves. My only (very small) complaint is that sometimes it may seem a bit less focused than its predecessor, but I suppose that's a fair price to pay for having so many excellent ideas concentrated in one piece. And with a kaleidoscopic and addictive album like this one, who cares about anything else? (8/10)