Chicago indie-rock outfit Spun Out have always drawn inspiration from UK postpunk of all stripes—especially its tendency to create drama by adding a sudden ray of sunshine to a dark, austere atmosphere. Their best material rushes past your ears like the breeze off a northern beach. “Pale Green Sky,” from the new Dream Noise (Shuga), opens with sounds that remind me of crashing waves and ocean spray, but even if it didn’t, I would’ve imagined them. On Dream Noise, Spun Out lean into psychedelia to make their otherwise stark songs sound vital and expansive, like a garden going through its full spring bloom in a matter of minutes. Everyone in the band plays with the relaxed poise of a veteran musician, which we’ve got every reason to expect: keyboardist James Weir and guitarist-vocalist Michael Wells were in Ne-Hi, bassist Chris Sutter leads Meat Wave, synth player Sean Page records under his own name, and drummer Joshua Wells is also a producer and engineer who’s worked with Destroyer (he recorded and mixed Dream Noise too). Spun Out can ignite their songs with nimble shifts and huge structural transitions, and “High Life” is a perfect example, progressing from a pensive postpunk melody to a dreamy falsetto prechorus and then into an uplifting, anthemic chorus whose triumphant swagger takes over the outro.
Spun Out Tension Pets and Finesse open. Sat 11/23, 9 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, $15, 21+