Invoke
Over the last several years, guitarist Arto Lindsay has mellowed out a  bit, ditching his avant-garde noise roots and embracing the sounds of Braziliantropicaliamusic and the work of artists such asGilberto GilandJobim. OnInvoke,  his music--leaner, filled with beats, and prescribed to funky rhythms that owe  themselves to no particular region of the world--continues to evolve. He still  toys with both English and Portuguese lyrics, but the romantic acoustic ballads  found on his previous efforts are mostly gone, replaced by more loops, break  beats, and the brooding bass of Melvin Gibbs. The gorgeous tenderness found on  "Delgada" makes the track a standout, while "Over/Run" is the album's most  infectious, hook-laden composition, seamlessly melding the beats of electronica  with Lindsay's trademark vocal delivery. Lindsay takes chances--a few of the  album's dozen tracks are throwaways--but, likeMoreno Veloso, he's forging his  own style of world music.--Jason Verlinde