Artists like Beck are defining characteristics of the 21st Century’s first decade. Back in the 1980s, Robert Fripp defined himself as a small, mobile unit and with the advance of technology, Beck and his brethren have taken that a step further, becoming one man band’s that cipher the best of a hundred years of popular culture into a rich brew that just enough of themselves to count as post-modern character.

Which brings us to Joakim. Apparently Milky Ways is his second album, and his past has inevitably involved DJ culture and dance music but for the past couple of years, playing his own music with a real band (of sorts) on the road he’s built up a sound that morphs seamlessly between the organic and synthetic.

I’d never heard of this guy before, but he’s pretty impressive. Unlike Beck, his music doesn’t always just refer back to the same few main influences (Prince, Prince and Prince) but has an incredibly wide orbit. More importantly, it’s smart, nimble, fleet of foot and imaginative, and you never quite know what to expect. That’s anathema to probably 90 percent of music listeners, who generally want more of what they know they like, but for those of us who like a surprise or two, and are looking for the sensual and sensorial delights (ie, hedonistic) that music can bring, Milky Ways is a blast.

It starts out with an atypical epic that’s more rock band thrash (with more than a few nods to the Krautrock sound of the early ’70s) than anything, but its 9 songs careen wildly all over the show, and as nutty as it all is, it’s highly listenable and entertaining because it never gets boring. GARY STEEL

Sound 3

Music 3.5