Burnt Friedman is more an abstract sculptor than musician. Throughout his 30-year recording career, he has used musical projects like Nu Dub Players and Flanger as platforms for bold, oblique, and meticulously constructed sound. Where instrumentals ruled previous works, vocals are at the forefront of his fourth album, First Night Forever. Alternately folky, proggy, and soulful, Forever finds Friedman retuning his spacious, jazzy post-rock dub inclinations to suit a host of unique singers. The Belgian vocalist Barbara Panther freaks her folk flag on the riveting Machine in the Ghost while Steve Spacek mines his lonely soul on Walk With Me. Friedmans latest three-dimensional sound form inspires repeated examination. (Tomas Palermo)