On
Low Pressure,
Spaceheads Andy Diagram and Richard Harrison bridge the gap between jazz and electronica with their characteristic trumpet loops, gurgling synthesized sounds, and metallic beats. Songs like the title track use a lazy, laid-back groove, part
Miles Davis, part
Aphex Twin's
Selected Ambient Works, to create an image of uneasy times.
Low Pressure is future noir -- music for sci-fi film soundtracks of tomorrow. "On a Clear Day," the would-be chase scene, relies on beats charging over a foreboding low end, "The Lugano Affair" is mystery and danger shrouded in intrigue, and the astounding sparkle of "Astro Temple" could make it what
Hitchcock called "the McGuffin."
Spaceheads masterfully connect the '70s, nu bop, and electronica for an interstellar mix that, while conjuring some of the same emotions as trip-hop, never becomes trapped by genre. ~ Charles Spano