Chillwave maestro Alan Palomo returns to broader critical attention and audience with Era Extraña. Neon Indian’s second album release is a sombre affair. The raw electronic edge of Psychic Chasms is diluted, replaced with a refined and tauter version of the band’s signature lo-fi brand. With this shift, the melodic strength of the band’s latest effort is notably paler than earlier material. “Suns Irrupt” presents a surging but ultimately empty, beat-driven offering, while “Future Sick” is an aptly-titled venture into digital blandness, without clarity or direction. Similarly, the track “Halogen” burns out before it has started. Moments of genius shine through in the bubble-gum brilliance of “Polish Girl” and the haunting title track itself. In many ways, the album avoids the demands of a mainstream listener and frequently lurches into obscurity. Expectations were high, this offering disappoints in too often pursuing a sense of identity without success.