The first couple of songs off Echo Ono, the ninth album by psychedelic-rockers, and brothers, Pontiak, are terrific—and it all goes downhill from there.

Echo Ono, (released Feb. 21 on Thrill Jockey Records) was conceived as a expressionistic concept record. You wouldn’t be able to tell by its first track, the blistering “Lions of Least.” The Black Keys and White Stripes come to mind as influences. And at 2:18, the song is short enough to leave you wanting some more.

Beginning with “The North Coast,” the rest of the album is what brothers Van, Lain and Jennings Carney intended. Various layers and textures come in and out, creating a canvas of alt-rock, blues and psych-rock. The concept is fresh on this, the second track, but it becomes repetitive quickly from that point on. With fast-slow-fast percussion, and alternating power chords, the remaining tracks blend together.

Grade: C

Listen to: “Lions of Least.”

Pontiak performs at Bottom of the Hill April 15.

Follow editor Roman Gokhman at Twitter.com/RomiTheWriter.