A Moody Mix of Trends, Originality

* * * Tuatara, “Breaking the Ethers,” Epic. Too good for lounge, too organic for techno, R.E.M.’s Peter Buck and his Northwest buddies fashion an instrumental side trip that stands apart from those trends--and yet contains both hip swing and trippy vibes. Titles such as “The Desert Sky” and “Smoke Rings” pretty much set the moods, but the actual music goes well beyond those archetypal images.

Percolating drums, marimbas and the like interlock in a quasi-African warp and woof, through which Buck (and Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready on one track) weaves earthy guitar tapestries, with saxophonist Skerik’s lyrical lines adding splashes of color. Somehow it manages to be both very tight and seemingly structured (unlike the more out-there excursions of related band Critters Buggin’, which also features Skerik) and at the same time seemingly spontaneous. Consider it jazz for Deadheads.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).