low & spring heel jack: bombscare

"Bombscare is an extraordinarily lush, poignant collaboration between quiet rockers Low and experimental electronic duo Spring Heel Jack. Spring Heel Jack provides the musical collage as a background for the harmonies and solo vocals of Low's Mimi Parker and Alan Sparhawk. Their production creates an icy cathedral of sound that... when it was released nearly 20 years ago, sounded unlike anything else in either band's discography. 'Bombscare' bleeds mood, space, and texture as sounds ring out and echo into the distance. 'Hand So Small' works like a literate lullaby as musical flourishes appear from thin air, a piano haunts the outskirts of the song. 'So Easy (So Far)' is perhaps the most traditional Low song, but Spring Heel Jack manages to make the band sound like they're singing modern day Brothers Grimm tales. 'Way Behind' is a stunning closer. It's a truly exhilarating song that sounds like it was recorded in heaven, as Parker and Sparhawk again take turns singing angelically over a jazzy electronic stew full of subtle found-sounds. Bombscare hints at the musical turn Spring Heel Jack would take on Masses and presents Low at the absolute peak of their powers. It's too bad the collaborators didn't compile an entire album's worth of material, as these 16 minutes seem magically fleeting. Bombscare couldn't be a more superb collaboration between these innovative artists." --All Music