Bob Brozman can never be accused of playing it safe. Along with Ry Cooder and Bill Frisell, he is one of the few great American guitarists to have taken an interest in non-western styles, collaborating with a range of unexpected musicians.

He worked in Okinawa with Takashi Hirayasu, teamed up with Rene Lacaille from Reunion, and now he matches his virtuoso playing on the Hawaiian guitar against the unique Indian twang and wail of Debashish Bhattacharya's Hindustani slide guitar, a new instrument that he has developed to match the intricacy of Indian music. The result is an intriguing but at times surprisingly lightweight affair.

There are easy-going, Indian singalong sections, featuring vocals from Bhattacharya's sister, and more western-influenced tracks like Sur-o-Lahari, which is based on a raga but ends up sounding like the theme from a spaghetti western with an Indian percussive edge, thanks to the tabla work of Bhattacharya's brother.

The two very different guitar heroes dominate the album with their classy flourishes and embellishments, and there are a handful of tracks where their furious duets shift the mood from the merely pleasant to the exhilarating.