Songs for Imaginative People raises singer/songwriter Darwin Deez beyond lovable-goofball status into the ranks of emerging studio auteurs. His skewed lyric perspectives and quirky inversions of pop-song conventions are even more pronounced this time out, at times suggesting a fusion of Beck, Ben Folds, and Jonathan Richman. Romantic themes are used as springboards into wildly convoluted metaphorical flights. The passive-aggressive verbiage of “You Can’t Be My Girl,” “Chelsea’s Hotel," and similar tracks are lent sweetness by Deez’s vocals. The album’s jump-cut lyrical effects are reinforced by a blend of choppy ‘80s-style funk and billowing soft rock melodies, lurching from the fractured Latin groovery of “800 (Human)” to the prickly introspection of “Moonlit” and the percolating narrative of “All in the Wrist.” Deez’s production is dense and sometimes almost maniacal, layering complex guitar riffage over robotic beats as the tracks get noisy and grow quiet. The resulting music brims with zany wordplay, inspired sonics, and an overall sensibility that should induce a slightly twisted smile.