From the first cut--"Mic Check," one of the coolest disc openers heard in ages--it"s apparant that Fantasma is something special. To hear electronic musician Cornelius (aka Keigo Oyamada) in full effect, skip ahead to "Monkey," which bends blistering shoe-gazing rock with goofy sound effects, lush, surf"s up vocals, and a pleasantly modulating 1980s synth with a loud, distorting drum-roll sample. Cornelius"s rock-savvy, playful, and idiosyncratic musical collage works as much off the tension between disparate, sampled sounds as their seamless dance alongside each other. Fantasma is firmly in the spirit of the anything-goes, D.I.Y. tradition of both punk rock and early hip-hop. --Mike McGonigal