“Waking the Troll” starts out this album minimally and psychedelically, with an esoteric organ tone and some bird chirps. Deeper in the mix is a wailing, desperate voice. This all adds up to what Galactapus calls “space-aquatic punk,” a term that seems to fit, sure, but it’s also grounded in psychedelic garage rock. However, the song never rewards you with the fuzzed-out guitar riffs you’re expecting to kick in at any moment. You get some guitars, but they’re as minimal as the rest of the weird sparseness. This tension continues throughout the first side, never rewarding you with what you want or expect. Galactapus insists on playing this almost deconstructed psychedelic rock. They’re not afraid to throw in a shaker, toy pianos, and god-knows-what noises that sound like a fishing pole being reeled in for the bridge, all keeping with the album’s spare weirdness. Even the vocals don’t go beyond, “hey, alright/ yeah, yeah, yeah, it’ll be alright” followed by some Muppety backup singers singing, “ba-ba-ba-ba-dah-dah-dah.” I keep wanting it to turn into some hokey garage rock, but Galactapus refuses. This refusal is what makes the album. Unfortunately, the second side loses the rapt attention the first side holds me in. It’s fine, but it starts to fade into the background. However, the first side alone makes this a keeper. –Craven Rock (Self-released)