The follow-up to 1997's kaleidoscopic electro-pop explosion Fantasma, 2001's Point finds shape-shifting Japanese production wizard Cornelius scaling back the chaos and finessing his melodies into an ambrosial swirl. It's as if he took the Stereolab track title “John Cage Bubblegum” to heart, but went light on the Cage-ian elements, leaving an ultra-vivid, confectionary song cycle. An agile, sensual conflation of synthetic and organic elements, as well as tropical field recordings and lusciously layered male and female vocals, Point presents Cornelius (aka Keigo Oyamada) at the peak of his wonder-struck, chameleonic powers. And he and his band can bring it live tonight, if the 2007 Coachella performance I saw by them is indicative. by Dave Segal