Rays are a new Oakland quartet that splices garage-punk with Flying Nun-style jangle-pop and wiry New Wave. The band's chimeric, unpredictable sound may be a natural consequence of deep ties to their hometown's noise community (its members hail from similarly weird Bay Area acts like the World, Violent Change and Life Stinks), but that frisson all boils down to basement theatrics — and there's plenty to be found on "Theatre of Lunacy," the latest ripper off their upcoming self-titled debut. True to its title, the track finds Rays experiencing a full-band freakout on center stage, under a white-hot spotlight. With the frantic percussive undercurrent threatening to sweep them away at any moment, the group must race to wrestle control from the fates — and that they do, in the surprisingly sunny finale. Listen below.

Rays' eponymous LP is due out March 24 via Trouble in Mind. Pre-order it here.

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