Ghost | Hypnotic Underworld |Drag City | Japan

Their most recent release, Hypnotic Underworld brings together these three strains of influence with a aesthetic confidence and technical mastery that you won't find in many other releases on Drag City (or many other American indie rock labels, period). The first four tracks form the often improvisational title suite, utilizing a disparate collection of instruments, time signatures and influences (Miles Davis, Pink Floyd, contemporary improv). It's a little self indulgent and a lot impressive. Bassist Takuyuki Moriya in particular is a heavy presence, holding the proceedings together on acoustic and electric bass with rich tone and articulation.

To me, however, the centerpiece of Hypnotic Underworld is the fifth track, their cover version Earth & Fire's "Hazy Paradise." It's no surprise to see Ghost doing a ballad by an old Dutch prog band, but what they do with it, eschewing the folksy tone of the original for tighter, syncopated performance that borders on Philly Soul, is beautiful. The song captured me when I heard it played in a Chicago record store and was stuck in my head (and CD player) for the next two weeks.

To be honest, I was a little disappointed that the rest of the album didn't sound so much like "Hazy Paradise." "Piper," in particular, with its Titanic-like tin whistle and Jethro Tull-esque climax, bugs the hell out of me. But then again, I love "Ganagmanag," another odd-time piece which pastes Philip Glass piano, sitar, fusion flute and fuzz guitar over a funky beat. (Obviously, my leanings are towards the black side of the Othello piece.) As do their fellow hippies Acid Mothers Temple, Ghost deal in sounds that have been done to death over the past thirty years. AMT try to make you hear those sounds anew through sheer volume and repetition. The Ghost project is a fusion of fusions--far more ambitious and, to my ears, far more successful.