The fourth release by this band from Portland, Oregon, comprises nine untitled, loosely structured compositions that are meant to add up to the allegorical tale of a mythological city named Dryystn that has been plagued and finally blessed by creatures known as the Mothpeople. If the band weren’t explicit about all this, you probably wouldn’t have any idea what’s going on.

The music adds experimental and psychedelic ideas to Yume Bitsu’s usual atmospheric rock with fuzzed-out guitars, and it’s surprisingly focused in view of the band’s improvisational origins. The album doesn’t have a driving force so much as a gentle magnetic pull as the songs progress and evolve toward some not quite visible point on the horizon. Guitars and synthesizers, equally awash in echoing effects, leave their notes stretched and shimmering in soundscapes ranging from song #2’s minimal and arrhythmic piano clatterings to the broad swathes of dreamy multi-layer guitars on tracks #1 and #7. So The Golden Vessyl of Sound enjoys a certain level of diversity; still, the subtlety of this project makes it hard for even the most fervent fan to stay on track throughout.