There is a warmth to waveform*’s Antarctica, felt right from the oscillating hum permeating through album opener “Lonely.” This slow-tempo song feels lived-in and light, delightfully basking in the simplicity of young love with little more than a delicate guitar arpeggiating across a steady drum beat. The Connecticut duo of Jarett Dinner and Daniel Poppa have been carefully crafting artful, introverted songs like this since coming together in high school. The two, with a shared affinity for bands both active & longforgotten to most listeners, feel like students of the indie rock canon. Their grasp of how to craft the perfect song has never been better than on their latest LP, a collection of ten songs held together by a very strange photo of some cows in an eerie iridescent blue and green light.

Like many of their genre predecessors, waveform* work within the familiar on Antarctica. Lyrics constantly repeat, with vocal melodies often finding the same pattern as guitar leads on songs like the fuzzy-rocker “Marijuana” or the hypnotizing and distant “Ocean.” These patterns make the songs feel authentic and lived-in, like revisiting a memory even on a first listen.