By DCist contributor Ahmad Zaghal

New York-by-way-of-D.C. band Drunken Sufis are musical chameleons, both as a band and as individual musicians. For the unfamiliar, Drunken Sufis are a D.C. experimental ex-pat supergroup of sorts, featuring members of Jukebox The Ghost and Exit Clov. Their music, however, is nothing like that of either of their other projects. There is nothing resembling pop in any of Drunken Sufis’ six releases, which vary drastically in style.

Their latest, Cotton Candy Cluster Bombs is out today on local label Bad Friend Records. Cluster Bombs is made up of twenty-six completely instrumental songlets that span twenty-three minutes. Most of these short pieces are tightly composed, spazzy math-rock bursts that channel many similar-sounding bands who were active in the early to mid 2000’s. This is a new sound for Drunken Sufis, who, prior to Cluster Bombs, mostly ranged from prog-punk to noise and drone.

The first track, “A^A^A”, is reminiscent of Deerhoof’s early output. Track four, “D^D^D,” (are you seeing a pattern here?) sounds a little like Ponytail and the start-stop of “I^I^I” brings to mind Fat Worm of Error.

However, none of these comparable bands ever played with the urgency that Drunken Sufis want to communicate. The album’s conciseness is a plus; who needs more than 25 minutes of this stuff? They hit you over the head with 26 quick ideas and leave you to take a breather only for you to come back to the record soon after and listen again to try and hear something you probably missed the first time. It’s also worth watching the series of music videos created in conjunction with the release.

D^D^D from Louis Lucci on Vimeo.

One notable absence on this release is any political allusion. Whether in the lyrical content or in the song titles, Drunken Sufis previously made their political views (on issues from American imperialism to corporate greed to mass surveillance) obvious on their past releases. Alphabetical instrumental songs don’t leave much space for political discourse. That might be the idea, though. Sometimes, you just need carefree-sounding, noisy math-rock. And that’s what Drunken Sufis masterfully accomplish.

A limited edition pink cassette is available for purchase from Bad Friend or Dischord Records. The album is also available for digital download from Bad Friend Records, Amazon or iTunes.