In their 24th year, New Zealand’s offbeat pop merchants the Tall Dwarfs — centered around Chris Knox and Alec Bathgate — put together an arsenal of lo-fi pop on the bewitching The Sky Above, the Mud Below. Housing 17 proper songs, plus eight bonus numbers recorded as the International Tall Dwarfs and featuring folks like Jad Fair, Neutral Milk Hotel’s Jeff Mangum, and members of the Verlaines and the Clean, the disc is long on peculiar numbers like “Possum Born,” a comical ode to said rodents, and the strangely alluring rocker “Carsick.” The Dwarfs rely heavily on the Fab Four, even going so far as to chronicle an unplanned meeting with the late George Harrison on “Meet the Beatle,” but it’s John Lennon whose pipes Bathgate resembles most on nuggets like “Big Brain” and “Room to Breathe.” While “Baby, It’s Over” is the hit the Tall Dwarfs deserve, The Sky Above, the Mud Below isn’t about crossing over, it’s about digging deeper. And repeated listens reveal vital pop/rock that’s as distinct as it is delightful. – John D. Luerssen