Held in the palm of one's hand, with a metal or wood "tongue" that protrudes into the mouth and is plucked by the opposite forefinger, the traditional jaw-harp of Kyrgyzstan is not anyone's idea of a conduit for blog-hype music. Which is why, taken together, the 15 jaw-harp-led songs here make for one of the best palate-cleansing albums of 2011.

It wasn't long after their show-stopping, out-of-nowhere turn at the 2009 Bang On A Can marathon in lower Manhattan that Kambar Kalendarov and Kutman Sultanbekov found their way to the studio, at the behest of Cantaloupe records. Once there, the duo cut driving, motorik-like jams ("Echoes of Time") with the aid of simple percussive and woodwind support, as well as gentle solo sighs ("Reverie"). Though in either case, it's the titular instrument's overtones — at once lazer-like and breathy — that seduce the ear, giving shape to the album. ("In the Jurt," for only one player, reveals how much like singing controlled jaw-harp technique can sound.)

Will you listen to all 40 minutes in a row, each and every time? Perhaps not. Had the riffing, strummy tunes been more reliably alternated with airier koans, the overall experience might feel better sequenced. But… read more »