ERROR CODE

Changing a band's name is not a decision to be taken lightly. Starting from scratch on social media accounts, forfeiting millions of Spotify streams and years of press coverage, maybe binning that box of now-outdated band merch – all of these can be daunting existential moves.

But when an ensemble has been reinvented as thoroughly as the heavy space rock band Error Code, some rechristening is in order.

Practically speaking, Error Code is a plussed-up version of the excellently named Denver Meatpacking Company, the sturdy Colorado-based trio of Alfred Mueller, David Simutis, and Jerome Bellian that released three superb albums in five years: Entropy (2016), Escape (2017), and Here (2020).

Mixed by industry luminaries such as Paul Hamann (Pere Ubu, fIREHOSE, Black Keys), Jack Endino (Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney), Mike Montgomery (Breeders, R. Ring), Brad Wood (Liz Phair, Sunny Day Real Estate), DMC's taut discography reimagined the best of '90s indie rock with a sly predisposition toward midwestern sensibilities.

But where Denver Meatpacking Company mined the gospels of Merge, Matador, SST, and Sub Pop, the former DMC members have widened their purview by pushing themselves in new directions. In the lead-up to Error Code's debut, Simutis virtually woodshedded by taking guitar lessons from Scott McCloud of indie heroes Girls vs. Boys for two years, explaining, "I was pushed up against my limitation of music theory, in terms of songwriting and what good guitar playing can mean. Scott's approach to guitar teaching is always about how guitars help the song."

The other major part of this revitalization process included adding the excellent Kyle Chason (formerly of Swindlin' Hearts) on second guitar, giving the band more interplay and texture for its vibrant new album, Trespassing on the Future.

The album's opener, "Apostate" immediately establishes Error Code's newly expansive ethos. Disconcerting digital ephemera streaks across the mix, rooting the band firmly in an unsettling 21st century while Simutis ominously intones, "I can see the future" over and over. It feels vaguely like a warning.

"Uncool Friend" is another stellar example of the band's huge new sonic footprint. The sound field is noticeably wider than in the DMC days – all the better to allow for Bellian's massive-sounding drums while deep layers of tangled, gazey guitars provide an unsettling foundation for a stranger-in-a-strange-land tale of a midwesterner's miserable trip to Los Angeles. This is sludgy space-rock of the highest order.

Elsewhere, "Generation Loss" is steered by Mueller's monster postpunk bass riff as the band navigates the middle ground between Dinosaur Jr. and Failure's finest moments. Guitars are alternatingly dreamy and chunky while Simutis's trademark Rust Belt timbre shrugs its way through the cosmic mix. And "Dance All Night" vacillates between a doomy Bauhaus-inspired descending chord progression and an unexpectedly anthemic chorus, all of which is slathered with Simutis' and Chason's buzzing guitars.

Interspersed among the rock songs are three compelling ambient tracks, including the swirly Yo La Tengo-esque "Alexa Fight Siri to the Death" and its creepier twin "Siri Fight Alexa to the Death," which could slot in nicely on Hans Zimmer's Dune soundtrack. Likewise, "Ghost Runner on Second" hovers in a blissful ethereal daze.

For its final track, Trespassing on the Future downshifts into a phasey halftime high earth orbit with "This is My Chance," a not-so-subtle reference to its musical cousin, Radiohead's "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi." On an album so imbued with dystopian dread, the song settles the listener into a comforting major key, a window into hope before disintegrating into space dust.