If percussionist Mike Dillon hasn’t already highlighted his wide palette through his varied work with Ani DiFranco, Les Claypool, Critters Buggin and Galactic, then Functioning Broke’s mix of cover tunes will certainly do the trick. Throughout the tolling and sometimes atmospheric-vibescentric record, Dillon offers tunes by Elliott Smith, Neil Young and Martin Denny, as well as several originals—showing off his skill on marimba, xylophone, timpani, orchestral bells, tubular bells, tabla and congas, stacking up the instruments in places without cluttering up the mix. Hearing the Elliott Smith songs stripped of the heartbreaking sound of Smith’s voice allows the simple appeal of the chords, melodies and phrasings to stand out. “Independence Day” sounds like it was made for the ringing tick-tock tones ofmallet percussion. The tone and texture on these songs can range from Steve Reich-ish classical/minimalism to retro-futuristic bachelor-pad exotica to an almost ambient sleepiness. Elsewhere, Dillon conjures the raw feel of Congolese amplified thumb-piano innovators Konono No. 1 or of marching-band-meets-gamelan. Given the relative timbral limitations of the instrumentation, Dillon creates an impressive range of moods.