The smooth fusion of jazz, funk and metal that Gruvis Malt have been enveloped in for the past decade or so is becoming more refined, and absolutely more eccentric as time goes on. Case in point, their latest album "Maximum Unicorn", a bizarre, seemingly conceptual affair that involves a man beheading a unicorn - complete with animated story panels included within the albums booklet.

But as kooky as its lyrical content may be, the insular fusion of funk, jazz and rock that this outing contains is clearly quite talented and takes on many faces as numerous musical avenues are explored. Not surprisingly, a laundry list of instruments are enlisted to this cause; including keys, sax, clarinet, flute, violins, cello and more, with all freely assembled together in an often colorfully dreamy way.

While the band may rarely freak out with aggressive shredding, their early Incubus-reminiscent brand of melodies and technical ability is put to good use in the substantial depth that makes up their genre-spanning compositions. A cavalcade of sounds flesh out the poignant instrumentation and witty songwriting, and while unexpectedly catchy, there's a recurring thread of dementia that runs through their music. It is this curious nature that gives it a puzzling, if not psychotic appeal.

As with anything conceptual, things can and do get out of hand. There are spoken preludes and a couple of tracks that wind up dragging the momentum into the dirt. Furthermore, the effort is also split into two sides and the storyline is unfortunately a tad confusing overall. Still, as far as most of the songs and musical talent go, Gruvis Malt rarely fail to pique the listeners imagination - even if "Maximum Unicorn" usually finds the band helplessly lost within their own.