Scale (2006)

Though his heady work can be more intriguing than fun to listen to, British electronic composer Matthew Herbert weds his experimental tendencies and pop sensibilities better than ever on Scale. The sonic risk-taker works with an expanded milieu of 723 ''instruments'' — including a golf ball, parrot, and coffin — to give this concept CD about the violent pursuit of oil a wholly unique texture. Using smooth vocalists and meticulous, funky arrangements, Herbert sneakily subverts Scale's apocalyptic thematic thread into something warm and danceable.