Former Zappa guitarist Mike Keneally has stealthily been making some of the best music of any progressive rocker’s career, both onstage with power trio Beer for Dolphins and on his own. Scambot 2 inhabits the same fantasy world as its predecessor, giving Keneally leeway to combine ambiguous lyrics with densely layered arrangements (Umphrey’s McGee drummer Kris Myers motivates several tracks) that warp time, space and harmony, while constantly playing tricks with your ears. Scambot’s influences include Zappa (natch), Coltrane, Neil Young, Gentle Giant and various flavors of death metal, but it’s ultimately a thing of complex, personal and emotionally resonant beauty, which I recommend highly.