For most people, life as a first-call monster drummer would be enough, but LA-based Louis Cole (of KNOWER) is also a multi-instrumental whiz and singer-songwriter in a category of his own. Quality Over Opinion is a welcome blast of his unpredictable funk, fusion, pop, neo-soul and all else, with crushing basslines and beats and lyrics that can veer from arch and satirical to tender and vulnerable. Cole couches it all in a high-pitched singing voice that’s at once angelic and slightly surreal. His collaborators, including pianist Chris Fishman, saxophonist Sam Gendel, drummer Nate Wood and guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, push the level of musicianship even further off the charts. Along with characteristic hard-grooving fare (“Park Your Car on My Face”, “Outer Moat Behavior”, “I’m Tight”, the instrumental “Bitches”), Cole goes full power ballad on “Let It Happen” and employs acoustic guitar in new ways on “Not Needed Anymore”, “Disappear” and “Forgetting”.