Cochlear Implant

Pop on Heavy Ghost, the first album from graphic designer and Sufjan Stevens protégé David Michael Stith and you’ll soon realize you have a challenge ahead of you. Stith has some eclectic influences, and he seems to have made it his mission to layer every single one of them into these atmospheric, complexly arranged soundscapes. The haunting, highly textured album opener, “Isaac’s Song,” clocks in at just over a minute but its manic, otherworldly piano-playing perfectly sets up the rest of the listen, from the chaotic percussion thundering through “Fire of Birds” to the soft finger-plucking and sprawling lyrics of “Pity Dance.” The latter song contains what may be Heavy Ghost’s key lyric, when Stith regretfully admits, “I ought to learn I can’t please myself every time.” Given the album’s complicated sound, it’s clear that he’s every bit as mystified by what he’s created as the listener.

CURTIS WRIGHT