If there is one thing you can rely on when it comes to the work of the entities known collectively as 夢遊病者, it’s their ability to surprise. We’ve heard dissonant noise and Frank Zappa-esque freak outs, shades of space rock and drone as well as classical and world elements on their last release. Now we have the veiled and impenetrably named offshoot IVSLYS, returning with their first new batch of tunes in seven years with the equally obtuse title Zero Seven Four One Zero. One thing that is NOT obtuse or ambiguous is the music: this might be some of the most accessible set of tunes to come out of this camp, with each of the four tracks settling into different moods that veer from dark noir-ish cinema to swirling psychedelic folk.

It starts with perhaps my favorite track on the EP, the loose and cozy swing of “Cadmus House Spirit”. With IVS handling drums and percussion and LYS on assorted bass instruments and voice (mystery of the name solved!), the track has a swing that brought to my mind Morphine, albeit with no sax and plenty of unearthly elements like autoharp and bells. The production is sumptuous without being suffocating, and IVS’s percussion in particular sounds fantastic, spread across the entire soundstage. It’s followed by the southern blues-tinged “Easton Tower Airlock”, and it’s here that the group mission statement comes into clearer focus. Per the group’s Bandcamp site:

As a cold wind blows and the trees shake with the vibrations of an unfamiliar presence—a shadow looms on a sleepy suburban town. 

The haunted extraterrestrial shade-like apparition crawls across the lawns and vestiges of the unassuming city, slowly transforming the historical landmarks into something unlike the human world…

Now the sax arrives (courtesy of Eden Bareket), and the Morphine vibes loom even larger. You can feel how the music evokes the feeling of an otherworldliness slowly invading our reality; frankly, with the current state of the world I welcome it. Maybe that’s why the songs on Zero Seven Four One Zero impact me the way they do. Lately I’ve been escaping into the indie pop/rock bands I got into back in the day, like Beach House and Blonde Redhead, and the darker moments of those dreamscapes find their more modern complements here. A sinister vibe permeates “Dunderhook Serpentine” and just the combination of those syllables evoke the throbbing, heavier mood the track conveys. Throughout the EP vocalist Yana Vlayeva provides a haunting counterpoint to each song, sometimes with lyrics but also with keening moans and whispery murmurs.

Closing track “Bergen Pine Spire” ends Zero Seven Four One Zero on a haunted note, bringing to my ears a sort of soundtrack to a Lynchian concept like House of Leaves (yes, I know Poe actually created an album to serve as a musical analogue to her brother’s celebrated novel) that nevertheless also has just the right touch of spooky fun between its horns and sparse arrangement.

And at only 19 minutes it’s super easy to repeat over and over again, getting lost in each nuance. Great surprise album that more people need to be aware of.