NYC's The Double delivers their Matador debut, Loose In the Air, a worthy successor to 2004's Palm Fronds (Catsup Plate). The massed Ace Tone/Vox/Casio keys of Jacob Morris and floating vocals of David Greenhill have led some staff members to liken The Double to music as diverse as '60s British folk mixed with theatrical synth bands. But the spooky/paranoid vibes and insistent, inventive rhythms of percussionist (he's more than a drummer) of Jeff McLeod consistently build up a wall of sound more nervous and more intense than that comparison might suggest. A consistent war between compressed noise/percussion and the counterclockwise guitar work on the one side and washy, abstracted vocals on the other lives up to the band's name... except that irresistible pop melodies are laid on top. An indescribable and lovely mess. (the management would like to add that this album is equal parts spooky, jittery and clang-tastic. The most wildly original NY album since Talking Heads 1977? Marquee Moon? Von LMO's Future Language? OK, I'll stop now.)