Blank Realm, Deja What? (side A)

My enjoyment in seeing Blank Realm perform live in 2013 inspired me to buy both albums available at their concert.  I listened first to Go Easy, their then-most-recent album, which was apparently close in content to the live performance that I'd seen, and it left me a bit cold.  I then went back to 2010's Deja What?, and immediately had an enthusiastic reaction that exceeded even the concert.  Deja What? seems to predate their existence as a live band — there are mostly guitars, keyboards, and two voices.  Cymbals occasionally seem to have been played live, but most tracks are built over loops or drum machines, with an approach to construction that loosely references the Tall Dwarfs, including its purposeful approach to lo-fi recording.  The guitars are often heavily processed, using classic effects that reference the 60s and 70s.  Where groups like Luxurious Bags borrowed from this palette to create dark atmospheres, Deja What? uses a similar palette to emphasize Blank Realm's youthful exuberance.  The approach to vocal melodies loosely references rock traditions, but the song structures never rely on simple verse / chorus arrangements.  An analogy might compare Deja What? to Perfect Sound Forever, and Go Easy to Crooked Rain Crooked Rain — the Pavement influence is small but clearly perceptible, though Blank Realm seem to have skipped Slanted in their chronology.  The calligraphy font on the cover resembles a heavy metal album, but the simple collage behind it more closely fits the band's approach.