Julian Lynch

On the latest Destroyer album, Dan Bejar demonstrated that "sensual" saxophone is no longer reserved for just yacht rock pastiches and Kenny G. New Jersey-born, Wisconsin-based singer-songwriter Julian Lynch feels the same way. Opening up his fourth album in two years with a silky sax solo, Lynch throws the instrument into a loose jam with hand drums, spacey keyboards and harmonica. It's a fine example of how he muddles up disparate textures in his broad, freewheeling musical landscape. After experiencing a bit of a breakthrough with last year's Mare, Lynch made a sensible move from Olde English Spelling Bee to Underwater Peoples, a label that includes his former high school pals/bandmates in Real Estate. With Terra, Lynch isn't just becoming bolder as a musician, he's also becoming more focused as a songwriter. Considering his background playing in various bands, working at Smithsonian Folkways and currently undertaking a joint PhD in ethnomusicology and anthropology, this type of development comes as no surprise. But in furthering his chops, Lynch hasn't abandoned the outsider's approach that earned him a cult following. Tracks like the strumming, folkie "Back" and waltzing "Fort Collins" are as accessible as he's ever been, but he invites the sax back on instrumental "Ground," to ooze all over the wacky cosmic synths, and spirals into a ramshackle drumbeat, an intrusive clarinet and astray falsettos on "Canopy." Lynch may be breaking new ground with Terra, but he still knows how to hold your attention by keeping things wonderfully weird.