Schema's a new collaboration between the Seattle-based, instrumental noise trio Hovercraft, and Stereolab vocalist Mary Hansen. Uh-oh. The very concept of screeching guitars meshing with the sublime, soft vocals of the Stereolab chanteuse is manipulative. Such a juxtaposition seems an inevitable recipe for sonic disaster, allowing opposite ends of the musical spectrum to collide in their incongruity while all members laugh at the listener's expense. Essentially, the idea behind Schema is a gimmick-- one that perhaps verges on interesting, but a gimmick nonetheless.

The gimmick, though, is so well executed that by the second track, any semblance of novelty is destroyed. It's true, Schema thrives on the blatant tautness that comes from combining such contrasting sounds. But, while both sides, at Schema's best, remain generally uncompromised and hold their respective ground, the band's music simply makes sense. More often than not, it's an integrated collage in which the artists' two separate styles threaten to take over the project as a whole, and instead end up balanced. This tension is the spine of Schema's debut, as well as key to its success.

"Echolalia... Curvilinear" is the record's centerpiece, and also its masterpiece. Nearing 12 minutes in length, it's the definitive marriage of the combined sounds. With the musical contour of a mountain range, the song's first seven minutes smack of Hovercraft. Ryan Campbell's guitar shifts from microtonal plucking to balls-out noise no less than five times over the course of the track, as ominous bass and drums build up and break down. In the first minute, a polyrhythmic typewriter-esque sub-beat adds to the already dense texture. Eventually, the song endures a complete collapse with its instruments giving way to ambient wind noises. Seconds later, Hansen's warped vocals wash in like a fresh bowl of Jell-O. Her thickening delivery solidifies throughout the next three minutes until the Hovercraft cacophony takes over, shutting Hansen back in the fridge.

From here, the album circles out, with the tracks that immediately precede and follow "Echolalia... Curvilinear" serving as thematic counterparts that nicely attune the contrasting Hovercraft and Stereolab sonances. "We Think We're Sane" sports a dank, standard hip-hop beat that churns over spacy keyboard twinkles and phaser sounds while Hansen sings, with a sleepy-eyed nonchalance, head-scratching lines like, "Release/ Expect/ Dissect/ Appear/ Idea/ Exhale/ Dilute/ Distill."

"Far From Where We Began" features bassist Beth Liebling breaking out her best Kim Deal rhythm lines, executing well enough to impress even Black Francis; Hansen's heavenly vocals sound more glorious than ever, augmented by an additional vocal track of her trademark la-la-la's; and Campbell's ever-present guitar squall remains in the background, allowing the song to assume the form of dreamy, dynamic pop.

The first and the last songs, "Unde" and "Getting Smart," again correlate, continuing the disc's outward sweep. "Unde" is primarily Hovercraft's gig, playing like something off 1997's Akathisia, with Hansen's inebriated warble incorporated as a separate layer; "Getting Smart" is Hovercraft's straight-faced tackling of the Stereolab aesthete, though perhaps too ambient for its own good-- its sputtering beat and analog keyboard can only be described as aimless. Sadly, these songs make for disappointing bookends, achieving a half-hearted integration that's better executed on the middle three tracks.

But while the opener and closer are relatively fit, they mostly serve as reminders that Schema is indeed the work of two drastically different forces in music. During the serpentine journey through sound that Schema navigates, it's easy to forget the novelty of the collaboration's concept, and the fact that this is merely a side project. Nonetheless, Schema's power to persuade and dissuade proves the collective has the chops to create what is ultimately an arresting debut.

-Richard M. Juzwiak