The Floating World

Midwestern noise freaks Wet Hair shoot for the moon on The Floating World opener “Dear Danae,” with a spacey sendup of slacker rock that acts as both barometer and death knell. It’s an ambitious kind of tempering for Wet Hair, abandoning the experimental corners of their project for a dip into more melodic soundscapes. However, the approach is only half in, and not as hard-hitting as it could be. As it is, the trippy tapestry of synthesizers is gratingly overdone, and within the context of futuristic-sounding music, the sloppiness of much of the playing detracts. That said, the band excels big time when it’s being weird as hell, as heard on the eight-plus-minute wormhole “Endless Procession,” a song that sounds like The Cure headlining a cult family barbecue. The Floating World is uneven, but there are kitschy, energy-dome gems to be culled if you have the patience.