On Object to be Destroyed, underground, experimental rock provocateurs Metronome the City have culled together a set of hazy, dystopic sound collages steeped in shoe-gaze, math rock and sludge medal. Theatrical and foreboding, this largely instrumental endeavor’s eerie, engrossing textures and clamorous convulsions call to mind the solo works of the Mars Volta’s Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Sonic Youth’s self-released SYR EP series. A definite step forward, Object to be Destroyed showcases the band’s growing command over its sonic terrain. More so than on their previous outing, Electric Elements Exposed, Metronome the City’s musical explorations cede actual songs. Amidst a mosaic of atypical time signatures, angular melodies, and menacing atmospherics, each track evolves, ascribing to an underlying structure—assembling and disassembling motifs—and develops past the point murky experimentation.

Early on, the incessant droning and fierce tension of “A8” drifts into a psychedelic, dub reverie, and later, the mounting pulse of “Metronomics” is met with a kaleidoscopic synth surge. While the meddlesome grind and frenetic fuzz of “Nard on Feet” and “Styer Faces” delve into a dark vortex, the gliding guitars and propulsive streaks of “Snow Job” and “Laser Back” glisten with euphoria, even if just for an instant. Perhaps the most twisted of MtC’s sinister grooves are the subversive surf rock excursions “WR 104” and the aptly titled “Surfdubssludge.” Lacing the bands lysergic leanings is the 15-minute multi-part epic “Thunderhead,” which sets the musings of a sitar amidst squalls of prog-metal.

As an album, Object to be Destroyed materializes much like an avant-garde art project. Complex and challenging, the album proves that MtC are capable of evoking a vast range of emotions from their dissonant salvoes. Still, a few too many disjunctive transitions stifle it from luring the listener into a higher state of consciousness.