A smorgasbord of sounds ranging from island-style ukulele instrumentals, inventive jazz improvisations, playful pop vocals, laid-back blues to Latin grooves, musical diversity is the modus operandi from the debut effort of Akamai Brain Collective.

An 8-course, musical mixed plate album capable of leaving ukulele fans air-strumming, jazz cats nodding in awe, and teenagers humming a catchy hook or two, the music of Akamai Brain Collective is fresh and interesting.

With sonic layers of instrumentation commanded by whiz kid Abe Lagrimas, Jr.'s no-nonsense playing and musical sensitivity, Lagrimas' debut on the ukulele is the highlight, placing him alongside new generation ukulele strummers Jake Shimabukuro and James Hill. The only difference is that Abe Lagrimas, Jr. picked up the ukulele for the first time in April 2003.

As a whole, Akamai Brain Collective's music never seems to stray from its namesake: Akamai (A Hawaiian word meaning "smart" or "intelligent"). The musical offerings from Abe Lagrimas, Jr., Randy Wong, and Eric Lagrimas, present themselves as creatively unique, somewhat left of center, but all in all maintain a fun and lively cohesiveness throughout. It leaves you wondering how you ended up in this situation, almost eager to pick at their brains for having created such works.

Here is an album that is not afraid to take chances. The musical elements are present and what you hear is what you get. This is the genius of three Hawaii local boys, Akamai Brain Collective.