There’s a dog barking near the start Cult Canyon’s “Bitter Birdies,” the opening cut from their recent long player Smoke Tricks. It comes just before the rippling piano riffing really kicks in. It’s a small thing but it adds leavening to the impressive layered quality of the emerging, building soundscape. It’s like you’ve entered a room where a lot is already happening and you can feel the tension rising, in a good way. On “Good Good Habits” it’s the tone of the main guitar that is so alluring, allowing the vocal rise up and ride over it like something bobbing on the ocean. The emerging string section just increases the swell. “Real Sublime” sounds more rocking, paced with a low-key strut. By contrast, “A Longing” gives off a Lennon-esque atmosphere, aided by its pumping piano chords. The focus on creating unique musical ambiences on this record is striking. “Run Red Lights” evokes an era of early 1980s FM radio hit singles with its haunting rhythm guitar tone. “Overwhelming Odds” is something different again, soft, meditative, exploratory. “Ride” takes things to the album’s plaintive conclusion. Over the course of these eight distinctive tunes you can’t escape the feeling you’ve really been somewhere special.

A trip to Cult Canyon is really the best way to pick up some new Smoke Tricks. You can make an easy return to the band’s website and Bandcamp pages via the hyperlink highway.