Light Chasers

With its deep synthetic notes gripping the beats for dear life and its vocals reaching for revelatory insights that sound as if they were cruising just out of reach, Cloud Cult, or more specifically, Craig Minowa climbs through space and time looking for a way to make his dreams come true. A new dad — the band was put on sabbatical until things settled down — Minova has a wave of optimism coursing through his veins and the ebullience can be heard in the way the album reaches joyous heights. The vocals twisting through “You’ll Be Bright (Invocation, Part 1)” recharge the Beach Boys for another century. “The Exploding People” takes a Bo Diddley beat and chops it up into something Laurie Anderson might find useful. “Forces of the Unseen” sits behind a piano for a vamp worthy of Broadway; the orchestration demands a full-cast approach. By the time of “There’s So Much Energy In Us,” it’s as if this album concerning space travel has found it’s heart right here on Earth, sitting restfully, patiently waiting for mankind to invite its magic.