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Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannson weaves a couple of primary themes through Fordlândia; as he explains in notes accompanying review copies, "If doomed and failed utopias form one of the thematic strands on this record, another one is rocketry."

Rockets and failed utopias. It's an appropriate collision of highbrow concept and visceral inspiration; Jóhansson's music is just as steeped in the forward-looking formalism of contemporary classicism as it is devoted to evoking a gut, emotional reaction from the listener. Unafraid to combine a 50-piece orchestra, digital sonic manipulations, and, as he says in those notes, the influence of "seeing Sunn O))) play in a church in Austria," Jóhannson crafts expansive pieces that are both lovely and gut-churningly powerful.

Taking thematic inspiration from the failed, American-style plantation that Henry Ford attempted to create in Brazil in order to get rubber for his car tires, a research paper on quantum theory, and a poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Jóhannson may seem to be venturing into decidedly esoteric waters. This is, after all, the man whose last album was an orchestral homage to the IBM 1401 mainframe computer. However, just as with that last piece, Fôrdlandia is imminently accessible, a warm and beautiful piece of work that traffics in both elegy and inspiration.

Standout Tracks: "Fôrdlandia," "Chimaerica" JASON FERGUSON