On their first release of new material since last year’s Scripting the Flip, Organic Records’ Jon Stickley Trio continues to refine its powerful, cutting-edge approach to acoustic instrumental music.

From the opening acoustic guitar arpeggios, “Future Ghost” unfolds as a juxtaposition of moods and meanings, using intermingled minor and major scales and ambiguous harmonic moves to create characteristically memorable melodic phrases. Meanwhile, as Stickley and violinist Lyndsay Pruett glide from alternating solo passages to intricate unisons, drummer Hunter Deacon’s steady groove, spare fills and occasional rhythmic shadowing of the other Trio members effortlessly guide the group toward the relaxed, satisfying end to “Future Ghost”’s succinct 3+ minutes.

The result—a mash-up of jazz, folk, rock, bluegrass and more into a unique kind of modern acoustic dance music—is a deceptively modest, yet ultimately masterful demonstration of the musical wit, unselfconscious virtuosity and fierce compositional chops that have earned the Trio a place on programs and playlists rarely occupied by instrumental ensembles.

A master of thought-provoking, often whimsical titling, guitarist Stickley came up with “Future Ghost” for the new track. “What would I be like as a ghost?” he asks. “Would I hauntingly terrorize those who deserve it, bless those I love, or selfishly spy on the ones I’m still obsessed with? This song explores those questions while rocking out in the prettiest way we can.”