Review by DjBatman
3½ stars out of 4
Jack's tracks to a superficial listener would probably look like heaps
of junglist minimalism. Instead, everything is carefully planned:
drums, sub-bass, melodic (and hypnotic) keyboard loops, unexpected horn
inserts that seem to come straight out some 60's tv serial about spies
and mysteries. Most of the music in "Busy Curious Thirsty"
ould be perfect as a dream machine soundscape; or, more realistically,
for club play (but particular light effects, lasers and projected images
would be a must in such a situation!). The atmospheric intermissions
like "Galapagos 3" (with a live drum sample courtesy of
Tortoise) apparently emerge as a diversion from the sounds of the
album... yet they still give the impression of soundtracks for a film or
for a trip to a fantasy realm ("Bells 2"); so they're perfectly in
theme with everything else. "Hale Bopp" is the perfect tribute to
the comet that travelled through our skies in the spring of '97; "Happy
Baby" is an ode to life and happiness in the form of an instrumental
filled with samples of baby voices; the intro to "The wrong
guide" sounds like the reharsals of an electro-symphonic orchestra.
If you're neither a club dj nor you are plugged to a dream machine now ;-) I'd
advice to play this disc during a long journey-- whether you are travelling
in deep space, on some highway on this planet, or even just surfing
the Internet in your own bedroom.
Here's what others reviewers have to say:
"...mates aggressive, low-end rhythms with disturbing
instrumental textures; the timbres and sonorities favored here recall...Elmer
Bernstein..and Carl Stalling....The resulting punch resonates both in the
head and in the gut..." 3.5 Stars (out of 5) Rolling
Stone 10/30/97, pp.67-68
"...non-junglists who dig Spring Heel Jack because they keep
the `musical' elements in the foreground will find precious little to hang onto
here....Coxon and Wales still don't chop up their drums as severely as
most junglists, but the clean sound of their first two records is mostly
gone..." 7 (out of 10) Spin 11/97, pp.148-149
|
