Armando Lopez, drummer with Miami nu jazz quartet Electric Kif - gatherers of a big South Florida following for their rousing mergers of synth rock, psychedelia, drum 'n' bass, and jazzy hooks - observes that the band's lockdown-produced Dreamlike LP aims to be 'something that grooves and is easily digestible. Not too much information.' This cinematically chilled, sonically rich-hued set certainly takes that prescription to heart, shrinking the band's usual solo/improv space (though long-time jazz friends, pianist Aaron Parks and Snarky Puppy tenorist Chris Bullock make cameo solo appearances), and reflecting lockdown-spurred contemplation in dreamily songlike themes, fast-fluctuating rhythm changes, and spacey ambient effects. 'Marrakush' and 'F.M.B', two singles from Dreamlike, catch that patiently exploratory vibe, with the former (the project's initiating composition) a global-musical studio mashup of clattering polyrhythms, streetlife vocal chatter and trancelike melody, and the latter a steadily clappy soul/funk groover underpinning Jason Matthews' talkative keyboards, and Rodrigo Zambrano's ghostly, tone-bending bass. The title track opens on a sustained hum and fast-heartbeat percussion, but builds to an inventively twisting synth break from Aaron Parks, 'Boo Boo' and 'Language Of The Unheard' highlight Electric Kif's dizzying time-shifting, and Chris Bullock's distantly rocking and then smokily thoughtful tenor solo on the closing 'Insomnia' is a standout.

Dreamlike won't feel like a jazz session for many of jazz's fans, nor does it really represent Electric Kif's acclaimed pre-pandemic excitement as a live band, but as an exercise in jazz-inflected studio sound-painting, it's full of ideas.