Various Artists
Orbitones Spoon Harps & Bellowphones
Ellipsis Arts

Now this is weird - an album entirely made of experimental musical instruments with a 95-page book you've got to read before you can appreciate the music. This album/book is released by Ellipsis Arts, who seem to deal mostly with various relaxation tapes and CDs, including a collection of funeral songs from around the world that I want to review for the next issue (hint, hint).

The music on this CD is both relaxing and not. It sprouts feelings of anxiety with tracks like Tom Waits' "Babbachichuija," a mixture of "found" sounds comprised of a washing machine's spin cycle, a creaking door, a sewing machine and Tom's own broken voice box. And it drifts into songs that make you want to sleep like Colin Offord's "Heavenly Flower;" Australian-made music created with a mouthbow and feather flute, among other unusual instruments.

If you like weird and have a few extra bucks on hand, pick this up, but if you don't, don't.

-D.J.

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