Clouds of wispy white smoke fill the room; drinks are poured with incredible exactness while in the background three silhouetted figures inhabit a cramped and crowded stage. Hunched over their instruments, these men play an intoxicating and otherworldly melange of acid jazz, skewed electronica, post-rock and dub reggae. These men are The Eternals -- and they, along with their self-titled DeSoto debut, are here to welcome the listener into their velour and martini soaked musical universe.

Hailing from Chicago, the home of modern jazz fusion, The Eternals seem set to leave their mark on the city’s, as well as the genre’s, vibrant and ever evolving history. Following the break-up of their seminal art-punk group Trenchmouth, former members Damon Locks and Wayne Montana set out to do something completely new and totally original. Enlisting the services of drummer Dan Fliegel as well as the production techniques of (Tortoise main man) John McEntire and Casey Rice, the duo have achieved exactly that. The Eternals is an album chock full of new and exciting sounds. Opener “Billions of People” lays down a seductive groove upon which the Eternals heap noodly guitars, warbling electronic effects and poetically virulent verses, creating a neurotic, yet strangely soothing beat collage. The smokily dynamic “Stirring Up Weather” utilizes fantastically awkward drumming and corrosive sampling to create its obtuse ambience. “Feverous Times” follows -- and proves itself to be the album’s weak point, carelessly tossing Lock’s vocal gymnastics over watered-down George Benson-esque cocktail jazz. After this brief slip-up, the album really gets rolling. “Phase 3 (of a never ending transmission),” “Eternally Yours” and “The Eternals 2000” are dispatched in rapid succession, balancing musical fervor with exquisite precision and heartfelt emotion. The album closes with the incredibly poignant “The End and the Beginning”, in which Lock ruminates about “Tales of creation and sin” over roller-rink organs and subtle rhythmic shifts. It is an amazingly peaceful way to end a record so full of dissonance and indecision.

It is encouraging to see DeSoto Records broaden their musical, not to mention geographic horizons with a band like The Eternals. The Eternals return the favor by proving themselves to be a forward-looking unit with tremendous promise for the future.