Petra Haden: Imaginaryland

One of the year's oddest diversions comes from Petra Haden, who's best known as one half of The Rentals and that dog. On her solo debut, Haden's distinctively high-pitched, classically trained vocals are fixed primarily upon successions of breathy sounds rather than words, lending tracks like "Look Both Ways Before You Cross" and the appropriately titled "Cuckoo Clock" a tightly spiraling, at times maddening quality. Just when you begin to expect nothing but 35 minutes of swirling syllables, along comes a pretty, acoustic guitar-based, instrumental cover of Enya's "Watermark." Then, soon enough, it's back to la-la-la-ing, and back again to an ornate, vocal-free string arrangement on the tragically titled "Song For The Whales." Imaginaryland is strange stuff—and it's probably too saccharine for about 99.99 percent of the country—but fans of Haden's band work may find it compelling enough for the occasional repeat listen.