Come Together
Cameron | Kilmarnock, Scotland | 06/21/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Musical collaborations are a risky concept, fraught with dangers and pitfalls; they should work like football transfers, a combination of the best players in the same team each bringing their own unique qualities to the overall performance. But history teaches us that mismatches and lack of cohesion can make even the best players an ordinary or downright awful team. Likewise musical combinations that are the result of cynical marketing or political forces dwarf the resultant work that is of little consequence and a mere by-product subservient to the fact you have the two stars in the same place at the same time. Thankfully the 'Bombscare EP' is no Whitney & Mariah. The marriage of Low and Spring Heel Jack seems so natural, a seamless meeting of minds and very much a cooperative effort rather than descending into passive remix territory that hampers so many rock/dance meetings of minds. Spring Heel Jack have never been a band that have fitted neatly into the drum 'n' bass genre and indeed recent releases such as the 'Treader' LP and 'Sound of Music EP' have hinted at a move away from a reliance on beats and a fuller exploration of the minimalist soundscapes and quasi-orchestral sounds that marked them out from the rest and made them so interesting in the first place. If '1st Piece for La Monte Young' from the 'Treader' LP hinted at the true potential of Spring Heel Jack, the 'Bombscare EP' is the beginning of that realization. Low a band that are so remarkably consistent in the quality of their output refuse to disappoint here adding their unique vocal harmonies and emotional impact to all four songs on the EP and proving that nobody does sad/beautiful better. Against Spring Heel Jack's affecting musical backdrop the songs achieve a crucial and beguiling inter-dependence that is the main reason this EP works. An ideal introduction to Low or as new material for the already converted and a genuine reason to look forward to the forthcoming new Spring Heel Jack album the only complaint is that this only lasts four songs but at the same time this removes the danger of exhausting such a precious source and you are not left with the felling of sameness that an album can descend into. The two artists give each other something the other doesn't have on their own and make this a fascinating crossroads. The road of musical collaboration is indeed a rocky one, but until the Britney/NSYNC thing finally happens the 'Bombscare EP' is as dangerously close to perfection as we might want to get."
Track Listings (4) - Disc #1