Maybe I'm biased due to location and personal tastes, but when I noticed we'd received review materials from Chicago's new Aesthetics label, I eagerly awaited a chance to check them out -- and hearing 33.3 has justified my anticipation. 33.3 is a three-piece band of sorts, although it sounds like guitarist Brian Alfred is doing double duty on bass so there's some overdubbing going on. 33.3 land partly in so-called "Math Rock" territory -- courtesy of their sedate, plucked-note melodies and gently lulling basslines -- and partly in the more idiosyncratic world of the exquisite Rachel's, thanks to cellist Dominique Davison's confident accompaniment. The true revelation on 33.3 doesn't come immediately; while disc opener "Miles" makes a pleasantly understated impression, it is "Quilted Giraffe" that finally pulls Davison's cello to the forefront of the mix, resulting in a delightful dialogue as guitar and cello intertwine leads. The longer "Latex Matrix" carries on the conversation, with Steve Walls' energetic drumming occasionally giving rise to a near-Fusion sound, while the cello steps up for the song's later breaks. 33.3 is full of peaks and valleys -- sudden moments where all three instruments mesh perfectly and really get cooking, and extended rest periods while the music stretches lazily in the sun. Until the music finally unravels in the last few seconds of "Disperse", 33.3 will hold you transfixed before the stereo speakers in a hypnotic daze.