Kevin Bronson on January 7th, 2014

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Vanaprasta has spent the better part of a year squirreled away in the studio working on new material, seemingly caught in a tug-of-war between their guitar-tastic roots and the allure of diving into synthetic textures. When the L.A. quintet – Steven Wilkin, Collin Desha, Taylor Brown, Cameron Dmytryk and Ben Smiley – kicked off their residency at Bootleg Bar on Monday night, it was evident they’ve decided to go for the best of both worlds. They’re rearranged some songs from 2011’s “Healthy Geometry” and fashioned some ones, arriving a dense, heavily electro-rock sound that, at its danciest, recalls Jagwar Ma and, at its dreamiest, recalls a lot of the emotional, glitchy pop that dominates today’s indie scene. Their new teaser song, “NYF” (Not Your Feelings) is languid and beautiful, with Wilkin’s evocative voice dialed back in the mix a bit. Judging from Monday’s set, Vanaprasta still does bombast better than most, but this is their sensitive side.

||| Stream: “NYF”

||| Live: Vanaprasta continues its residency every Monday this month at the Bootleg.

||| Previously: “Supernumerary,” “G-”