Plastic Fantastic Lover

It's hard to put your finger on Plastic Fantastic Lover's music. Most of it falls somewhere between a folkier Tom Waits and a mildly psychotic take on the Grateful Dead's mellow, hippie-folk side. But then it takes a turn into something like electronic down-tempo for a track or two before slipping into a weird, abstract jam from the quieter side of post-rock, all flanged guitar and reverb-soaked electric piano. Less an album than a haphazard batch of songs, the whole collection appears to be the work of mastermind Chris Jeffries, with various acquaintances assisting. In any case, it reveals an unusual mind and talent at work; the result is schizophrenic and disjointed, but there are gems to be found here, even if they are a bit unpolished and in strange shapes.