Fantasma

Like many of his counterparts in the '90s wave of Japanese rockers, Keigo Oyamada (a.k.a. Cornelius) is well-versed in the history of pop as it leads up to the here and now. And for the most part, the likable genre-jumping antics of 'Fantasma,' his third full-length that works as a US debut, pigeonhole him as a somewhat more schizophrenic Beck. He gets crazy with not just the cheeze wiz, but 3D microphones, Meredith Monk-like vocal overlays, drum'n'bass beats, kitschy keyboards, and a mound of samples... ingredients for a pop-cult salad nonpareil. Where Cornelius dazzles though, is in his musical default function, which is wisely set on psychedelic indie-pop. The droney, driving 'New Music Machine,' for instance, cobbles together a bleeding lo-fi aesthetic out of 48 tracks worth of background vocals, analog synths and, above all else, drums 'n' guitars. And 'Seashore and Horizon' shuttles between such a seamless Pet Sounds vibe of acoustic guitars and choral arrangements and kooky magical mystery pop burn-out, that you can almost smell the members of the Elephant 6 collective molding with envy.