David Garza had been kicking around the indie scene since the very early 1990s before finally signing to a major label and putting out "This Euphoria," including stints in Dah-veed (the preferred pronunciation of his first name) and the wonderfully named Twang Twang Shock-a-Boom. None of his earlier releases provides much of an indication that something like "This Euphoria" was in store. Perhaps he was missing some aspect of major-label production, or perhaps everything just clicked when he was making it, but "This Euphoria" easily outpaces anything he had done before. That isn't to say that what had come before was of no value-"This Euphoria" easily outpaces most of what was released in the late 90's as well. It is really quite rare to encounter an album that veers so wildly in style from track to track, and uses so many disparate musical elements, and still coheres as well as this one does. Individual tracks each present their own attractions: "Discoball World" an introductory techno beat and radio-friendly melody; "This Euphoria" an easy psychedelia, in which the comparisons to Jeff Buckley come closest to being accurate (they rarely apply elsewhere, and actually when you hear that an artist is influenced by or reminiscent of Jeff Buckley this is usually just a fancy way of saying that he can hit the high notes), "Slave" an irresistible reggae-ish beat and playful lyrics; "Baptiste" an organic, evolving song structure that provides the album's single most satisfying number. Every song is worth hearing, and the range of talents Garza reveals on this album is truly stunning. It is sad, if predictable, that late-90's format radio couldn't find a place for him; his songs belonged in heavy rotation where everyone could become completely sick of them. Hopefully, this will someday happen with some less wonderful effort than this one. The only real drawback to "This Euphoria" is the expectations it produces-nothing else in Garza's discography, including his latest (as of this writing), "Overdub," matches it. For a generous dose of pop perfection, I give this album the highest rating.