k.

The songs on Mexico City’s k.’s self-titled debut ebb and flow like waves, which is saying something for music that relies so much on distorted, low-end-heavy riffs. The instrumental quartet’s secret weapon is their melodicism, which they deploy sporadically to give the album a sense of dynamics, while keeping tempos chugging along. Opener “Juggernaut” quickly sets the pace for what follows, while moody “Aurelium” shows the depths k. can achieve; then there are the irresistible headbanging moments like “Phaedon” and “Hyperion.”