Pink Palms

Audio Mixer: Michael Patterson .Recording information: Sonic Ranch, El Paso, TX (12/2013).Photographers: Rebecca Smeyne; Mikaiah Lei.The Bots' early singles and albums often gave the impression that they were the work of a few different bands; Pink Palms, the duo's full-length debut for Fader, is similarly confusing, but not unpleasantly so. Even the album's title is a bit ambiguous -- are Mikaiah and Anaiah Lei referring to rosy hands or fake trees? -- but this uncertainty is an apt expression of the brothers' stylistically hyperactive music. Though their stated influences include the White Stripes and Black Keys, the Bots engage in far riskier and more interesting collisions of sounds on Pink Palms, and more often than not, elements that should be at odds end up working well together. "Won" pits dense guitars against dub-inspired verses, while "Alanna" seems like standard-issue, head-bopping garage pop until a burbling synth solo briefly transports the song to a different dimension.