Nobukazu Takemura
Sign
(Thrill Jockey)

Although the album itself is a little dull (too casual to be Merzbow… too slippery to be Tortoise), the bonus animation CD (by Katsura Moshino) is pure gold. It seems to be the story of a team of heroic mutants—led by a robotic rabbit and a mysterious samurai shaman—who confront the injustices of the military-industrial complex, all set to the music of the first song on the album. Now that I have pictures to go along with it, I like it much better. Beware: not all computers can handle the high-resolution animated component. The rest of the album’s not that great, either.

Donovan