The most striking thing about Jeremy Enigk’s World Waits, the much-anticipated follow-up to his 1996 solo album Return Of The Frog Queen, is its constant and seamless stylistic shifts. Even the brief opener “A New Beginning” evolves from ambient guitar picking punctuated by the cyclical panning of ethereal female voices, to the grandeur of what sounds like a fully orchestrated rock opera overture, in about a minute and a half. The other nine tracks that make up World Waits range from thoughtful folk-tinged pop (”River To Sea”) to quirky, deliberately restrained indie rock (”Canons”), all held together by Jeremy’s trademark voice, often stacked on top of itself and drenched in reverb.

Along the way, his experimental nature is still evident, though it comes out in very different ways than the psychedelic orchestrations and spastic vocal outbursts that made Frog Queen so adventurous. “City Tonight” is a mid-tempo rocker laden with Depeche Mode synths underneath a chorus of call-and-response vocal layering, while “Wayward Love” pits lush strings and 70s prog vocal harmonies against classical guitar and swelling keyboard pads, propelled through a brief two-minutes by distant hand drums. Meanwhile the unresolved arpeggios of “Dare A Smile” sound at once sweet and anxious against the constant pedal tone, as the song slowly churns with its soothing but nightmarish beauty.

For all the instrumentation and full orchestrations found on World Waits, the production wisely never gets in the way of Jeremy’s vocals, which are as strong as ever at both extremities of his range. The most memorable moments are those when everything gives way to allow as much space as possible to showcase his voice, such as in “Damien Dreams,” which ranges from his lowest raspy hum, to a screeching, tortured cry. An especially moving moment is the soaring vocal melody of the first verse of “Burn,” made all the more effective by its sparse accompaniment, a simple piano/organ drone.

As with Return Of The Frog Queen, the biggest (and perhaps only) complaint that can be made about World Waits, is that it’s over far too quickly. In 36 minutes, Enigk manages to effortlessly combine a myriad of genres and bend them to his whim, while stretching his voice from a rich, low growl, to an airy falsetto. His longtime fans will surely cherish the album as an instant classic that holds up against his earlier work, even Sunny Day Real Estate’s 1998 masterpiece “How It Feels To Be Something On.” I only hope that there is enough good press to get this album the attention it deserves, so that the insatiable appetite of his adoring public might be able to see a follow-up without waiting another ten years.

I saw Minus The Bear last night and they were really, really good.  Possibly great.  It’s hard to say, because I can’t help being at least a little disappointed when I come hoping to hear 25 songs sounding exactly like they do on the album and instead I get 5 non-robotic guys sort of feeling the energy of the moment and playing songs in a human way.  They definitely rocked though, and had more stage presence than I’ve seen in older bootlegs.

I’m not sure what my reaction is on the new material, but I’m sure it will sink in once I’ve heard it a few times on an upcoming album.  It was also cool that they haven’t ditched all the old songs with quirky titles, like Absinthe Party At The Fly Honey Warehouse.  The line up was completed by the energetic Velvet Teen (whose drummer may or may not have been on performance-enchancing drugs), the supremely out-of-place P.O.S., and the very I-showed-up-at-8-and-missed-them Russian Circles.

In other news, Jeremy Enigk said he like my version of his song again.  I heart him.  I heart him to pieces.

I have so much to tell you and so little time.  Actually, to be fair, I have a lot of time.  And really, there isn’t that much to tell you.  So let’s get started.

• 10/14: Astronaut Down @ The Underscore, 12 am - 1733 First Ave
• 10/18: Funny Energy @ Pussycat Lounge, 8 pm - 96 Greenwich Street at Rector
• 11/17: Astronaut Down @ Siberia, 10 pm - 356 West 40th Street

In other news, I just saw Legend for the first time yesterday, and I’m convinced that I should start writing fantasy, whether in book or movie form.  Unfortunately, when I said I had a lot of time, that was a lie, I really don’t have very much time at all.  So the one screenplay I’m currently writing (along with the two bands I’m in) will have to do for now.  Just thought I’d mention it.  Legend is a cool movie.