Tampa-Sarasota

Something that Needs Nothing becomes even more gregarious with the ensuing "Cub Jr.," an uptempo track that rises and falls in intensity, but never stops climbing toward a climax. "Bones" veers into Brit-style dream-pop, with drummer Ryann lending propulsion and bassist M To The D letting her fingers loose during an instrumental break.

Longtime fans of the Tampa Bay band shouldn't fret, though. While GUH! has embraced some pop and art-rock elements, they haven't abandoned their stock-in-trade of droning, hypnotic sequences.

The music's most beguiling aspect is the layered guitar arrangements imagined and executed by Conner and Nikki: intertwined parts that meld ringing long tones with cascading arpeggios, echo-drenched chords, blasts of fuzz and Edge-esque flourishes. One of the band's signature conceits is to pull back on the reins, delve into a thoughtful, even pensive, guitar interlude, and then re-marshal the energy, gradually revving back into the song structure. These sequences can be considerably more interesting than standard-issue guitar solos.

Something that Needs Nothing does occasionally lapse into numbing repetitiveness, and sometimes the band's overall remove can come off as just a tad precious, but in the end this 11-song set shows maturity, growth and, probably best of all, artistic ambition.

A tip: Turn it up. Some of the nuance gets lost at lower volumes. (It's Not a Monster Records, myspace.com/giddyuphelicopter)

For more from Tampa check out Creative Loafing.