Let's say that Soul Coughing joined forces with Portishead and Bjork. I know it's unlikely; just bear with me. Do you know where this is going? Okay, it'd sound something like Cibo Matto.

This may be the most brilliant record I've heard so far this year (and that's a lot of records for a guy like me). The tracks are totally unpredictable. One minute, the music is dreamy and ambient with bizarre poetry read over it, and the next it's the bitchy rap sounds of "Birthday Cake" and "Beef Jerky." ("Who cares / I don't care / A horse's ass is better than yours.)

At once inventive and utterly peculiar, Cibo Matto's full-length debut is a mind-bending piece of work that's as addictive as nicotine and as insane as Howard Hughes.

-Ryan Schreiber