An eight-piece (!) fusion band from Spain is as unlikely an entity as you might encounter in today's rather disposable music climate (even within jazz/rock circles), but Planeta Imaginario, like their rather enigmatic sobriquet, seethe with more than just nimble chops. They have that in spades as well - they're a well-seasoned troupe that's been around since 1999, yet Biomasa is not only their second album, it's the first to be released outside of their homeland - except that whatever influences the adept listener might detect (echoes of Weather Report, National Health, any number of rogue Fender Rhodes-centric bands of the 70s) is handily washed away in the octet's elaborate arrangements.

Biomasa begins with a two-minute long excursion into outer-space electronics that wouldn't be out of place on an early Tangerine Dream record, but this auspicious opening gives away almost immediately into the sparkling bop-cum-fusion flourishes of "Washington Sniper." Though I question the decision of tactlessly naming a piece of music after a notorious American incident, what is most surprising is the track's gregarious nature, recalling if anything Tony Williams' later (and lighter) Lifetime works. Things get far more complex once the eleven minutes of the record's title track kicks in: throughout its leisurely pace, there crawls a tasty walking bass line amidst nicely Metheny-esque guitars, trickling Rhodes runs, and piquant fills of trombone as the whole piece becomes a lilting jazz calliope. A more overt Canterbury/RIO influence creeps about "Today Is A New Day," as echoes of Miriodor flit about the synthesized backgrounds and lush habitu�s of guitar.

Lest the band not allow us to forget their origins, their modus operandi is summed up in the most vivid way possible; the closing track, "Optical Delusions of a Bipolar Bear," works pealing, metallic guitars, Fripp-like ostinato patterns, percussive grunge and sax skronk - not to mention an elaborate helping of old-school prog electronic whitewash - to re-imagine a Spanish King Crimson jamming enthusiastically with Chick Corea and his Return to Forever mates. Bravo.