Lenguas Largas

This 2011 full-length debut from Tucson’s Lenguas Largas retrofits the psychedelic punk of The 13th Floor Elevators and Wire to the US/Mexico border region of Arizona. It evokes both the vast and mysterious desert and the menacing tension of a lurking militarized border patrol, sometimes in the same song. Under endless layers of murky guitars and sound effects are multiple percussion tracks, giving this a set of shaking hips not always present in bad-trip psych. Occasionally, the sun peeks through, as on the Crystals-like “Yardsale Heart” and “Lonely Summertime.” The band combines the bad vibes and the bliss on “I Feel,” which rides swirling psych guitars and a Ritchie Valens-influenced vocal to a widescreen climax.