Cornelius

Out of context, you’d be hard-pressed to figure out what came first with Cornelius’ Sensurround: the music or moving pictures. But that’s likely just the point. On this DVD companion piece to Sensuous — the 2007 album by the Japanese pop poster boy — the sights and sounds are so tightly interwoven that it’s clear this is much more than simply a collection of music videos; it’s an essential part of the Sensuous equation. Following the same track order as the album, the visual artists brought on by Cornelius weave a polychromatic, often hypnotizing set of images, such as slow-motion paint splashes, living bubbles and digitally mutating children. But unlike what you’d usually expect from such a psychedelically-loaded project, this one is as entertaining as it is trippy, often thanks to the several stunning stop-motion videos, such as those for "Beep It” and "Fit Song,” which easily incite resounding "what the fucks?” Sensurround doesn’t add much in terms of DVD extras but it does include a great CD of nine Sensuous B-sides, only making this set that much more essential.