CHAD VANGAALEN - Soft Airplane

With homespun sonics poking out of direct songforms, Chad VanGaalen is foremost blessed with a voice both unsettled and self-possessed, causing customers to ask who's singing whenever we've thrown this on. Speaking of vocal quaver, though, VanGaalen does go full-Shakey once with "Inside The Molecules"' "Wonderin'"-'bout-Zuma swingtime. Techno touches abound on "Phantom Anthills" and "TMNT Mask"'s holy-effed Casio four-on-the-floor, while "Rabid Bits Of Time" mulls over the mess of death and dreams via panned train pistons, followed by "Frozen Energon"'s cold FX snarl.