Baloo

Corey Farrow is the gifted producer behind some of Low in the Sky's best cuts. Sky paints musical soundscapes that have giant beats and irresistible melodies. On his solo Baloo project, Farrow is free to wander way off that grid, and he does. Giraffula has some brilliant moments — like the simple, happy guitar jam "Shoe Sale Paradise," the space-lounge disco "Jeoparty," and "Hors Doeuvres in the Court," in which a wall of static gives way to a hypnotic combo of a sleepy six-string and lulling drums. But many songs feel like free-form echo-chamber racket ("Sam Don't Cry") and random-noise sampler experiments ("Autonomosynchros"). Even "Very New Creature," which sounds like a music box with a beat, has an abrasive edge that, for better or worse, makes it impossible to passively listen.