Minus The Bear VOIDS

The Seattle-based indie rockers' sixth full-length, and their first outing since the departure of longtime kit man Erin Tate, Voids arrives three years after Minus the Bear's B-sides and rarities collection, Lost Loves, and five years after their last proper studio LP, Infinity Overhead. New drummer Kiefer Matthias is more than up to the task. The band's penchant for pairing tight, loopy beats and mathy guitar noodling with sinewy verse melodies that reveal big rousing choruses is on display early with the lovelorn opener "Last Kiss," one of several cuts that mines heartache and missed connections for emotional riches. Knotty follow-up "Give & Take" and the propulsive "Robot Heart" lean harder on the band's prog and post-punk tendencies, while the moody "Silver" distills both predilections into one of their most immediate and compelling songs to date. Two of Voids' best offerings, the soulful "Call the Cops" and the atmospheric closer "Lighthouse," flirt with dream pop, but the sta