151A

151A, the full-length studio debut from singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/Jupiter One co-founder, and Of Montreal and Regina Spektor touring member K Ishibashi (Kishi Bashi), delivers a trippy, intensely melodic set of nine cosmic chamber rock songs that fall somewhere between the classically minded indie pop of Jonsi, Owen Pallett, and the grandiose, gravity-defying psych-bombs that the Flaming Lips have been dropping since the Soft Bulletin. Like Patrick Wolf and the aforementioned Pallett, Ishibashi's a violinist by trade, and his bow tricks and intricate arrangements provide stand-out cuts like the apocalyptic "Atticus, In the Desert," the effusive, Afro-pop-kissed "Bright Whites," and the swirling, epic closer "Beat the Bright Out of Me" with enough gravitas to withstand their many quirks. ~ James Christopher Monger