Minneapolis’ Flavor Crystals perform live in Seattle Wednesday. Photo by Tom Gilmore.
If the double album is a rarity these days, the triple LP is practically extinct — but don’t tell that to Flavor Crystals, who’ll perform live at Seattle’s Chop Suey club Wednesday in support of “Three,” a six-sided, 24-song suite released in 2012.
It’s tempting to call the Twin Cities foursome’s music shoegaze — not the tinnitus-inducing variety like genre kingpins My Bloody Valentine, but laid-back and richly textured, like San Francisco’s The Brian Jonestown Massacre.
Yet that would be to disregard their penchant for space-rock builds, David Lynch ambiance and Krautrock hypnosis — and the virtual telepathy with which they play.
Spanning roughly 100 minutes, “Three” certainly isn’t meant for listeners craving instant gratification — but don’t confuse its ambition for pretension.
The only real chore is singling out one track as the record’s best, though hazy centerpieces “Surround” (listen) and “Straight Lines” (listen) — and especially the serene “Sultan’s Orders” (listen), reminiscent of Yo La Tengo’s 1993 classic “Painful” — provide a solid basis for what Flavor Crystals is about.
Wednesday’s bill is a testament to the international language of effects-pedal worship, with Beijing’s Carsick Cars co-headlining.
Flavor Crystals, Carsick Cars, White+, Black Nite Crash
8 p.m. Wednesday at Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., Seattle; $7 (206-324-8005 or
chopsuey.com)