Sacramento, Calif. natives Tera Melos have spent the past few years cranking out knotty math rock; 2009's scrappy Drugs to the Dear Youth EP possessed some inspired riffing, while 2010's  Patagonian Rats combined hooky vocals with dense webs of noodly guitars and proggy flourishes. 2011's Zoo Weather EP was the group's tightest recording to date, as the band translated their love of guitar tech wizardry into a foundation for off-kilter pop.

"Sunburn", from the band's forthcoming X'ed Out, embraces the care-free summer dreaming of So-Cal pop-punk, crafting a healthy marriage of dense, time signature warping melodies and power chord crunch. By the time lead singer Nick Reinhart hits the ear worm chorus ("Something you can't explain/ Forget it!") it's obvious that Tera Melos have come a ways in reconciling their passion for mathy expansiveness with tightly coiled bursts of rock.

[from X'ed Out; out 04/16/13 via Sargent House]