Kaleidoscopic EquinoxMotion Turns It On's sparkling, economical Rima clocked in at 33 minutes in 2007, but it was technically an EP, which makes the barely-longer Kaleidoscopic Equinox the band's debut full-length. That appellation is belied, however, by the record's ambition and density; nobody will believe this is MTIO's "first record." Starting from the riff-based instrumental post-rock of Rima, Equinox cranks up the tempo and piles on keyboard solos, guitar overdubs and distorted vocals until the music resembles something like a more beat-minded version of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, alternated with ambient interludes from Brian Eno.

The 16-minute 1-2 punch of the album's centerpieces, "Lo Pido Con Piedad" and "Occipitalized," exemplifies the band's capabilities beautifully. The former builds on and modulates the jazz chords underlying a guitar melody to create verse, chorus, shrieking bridge, and hair-raising exit within a simple and virtually unchanging rhythmic pattern. The latter races along for nearly three minutes on a crisp hi-hat sixteenth notes before stopping dead for fifteen seconds of jaw-dropping unison runs, then drops right back into the groove, superimposing the runs on top. Freakout solos from guitar and organ interrupt, followed by trumpet blasts, then a three-beat riff repeated into near oblivion, for all the world as if the band were Amon Duul II on speed.

It was clever for the band to throw in the aforementioned interludes, which function as a breath of air outside a raging party. Even compared to Rima, this record is just that crowded, exhausting, and gloriously, life-affirmingly fun. More than a great post-rock record, Kaleidoscopic Equinox is a way forward for the genre: out of the lonely, plodding, echo-filled doldrums, into the neon frenzy of the urban night.

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Kaleidoscopic Equinox will be released Feb. 16 on Chocolate Lab Records (click the link for a free download of "Give Up The Ghosts.")