Three years ago, Cincinnati-based singer/songwriter/home recordist Peter Adams release The Spiral Eyes, a gorgeous collection of orchestral Indie Pop that gradually went on to grab international acclaim. Adams was featured prominently in Magnet magazine and he also scored a mention in Spin magazine more recently.   

For Adams' much-anticipated follow-up, I Woke With Planets In My Face, the songwriter keeps the home-recorded vibe alive and creates an even more sonic, textured bedroom masterpiece (though the production is anything but lo-fi, robust as anything recorded in an expensive studio). The new "CD" has been made available at peteradamsmusic.com as a "name-your-price" download (a la Radiohead's In Rainbows), though hard copy versions of the disc will be available this Saturday at Adams' show at Baba Budan's in Clifton. (Hard copies can also be ordered through the Web site; in a few months, a deluxe "Lunaphonic Omnibox" version, with extra goodies, will be made available).   

However one chooses to buy Planets, the music contained within is thrilling, insanely catchy and remarkably diverse. The most noticeable change from Adams' last album is his effortless integration of World music sounds, something he incorporates without detracting from the strong songwriting core. "Annabel Lee" has a Gypsy feel (accordion and all), capturing what might happen if The Shins collaborated with Gogol Bordello, while the chimes and violin of "Ghost in the Fen" have an almost oriental flavor.   

Middle Eastern and Eastern European influences creep in and out throughout the album, but this is no Graceland-esque excursion. Adams bread-and-butter is a mix of lushly orchestrated strings with lavish, engrossing melodies. Practically every track on the album is a thrill ride, as Adams breaks the "Pop" mold to allow the songs to breathe and wander. Calling Adams' music orchestral isn't just a reference to the layered strings — he writes in a very symphonic way, making his tunes more accurately described as "compositions" or "scores" than just songs.   

The album holds a hypnotic sway when taken as a whole, but even individual tracks mesmerize and pull the listener in. The glacial "Antarctica" is a spellbinding epic, Sigur Ros-esque in scope and grandeur, with a swelling chorus that will have your back-of-neck hairs standing at attention and saluting. Likewise, "The Seventh Seal" is a grand ballad that builds like a cresting wave that never crashes ashore, the high-ceilinged melodies hovering atop like gently rolling clouds.   

I Woke With Planets In My Face is a sumptuous, luxuriant album, full of spine-tingly twists at every turn. It's the kind of album you could listen to for a year and still discover new things. If his humble debut attracted ears like flies, then Planets is about to be swarmed with even more acclaim. When I reviewed The Spiral Eyes three years ago, I gave it an unprecedented "grade" of "A+." Looks like we'll have to come up with a new grading system just to accommodate this enthralling tour de force.