Album Review: Redshift EP by Splashdown

The three principal artists of Splashdown clearly have varied musical tastes, experimenting with everything from acid jazz to ambient trip-hop and hard-core guitar riffs. On their Redshift EP, sometimes these diverse elements come together in an interesting mesh, but often the combinations are jarringly incoherent. "Waterbead" incorporates ethereal vocals, jungle beats and one heavy metal interlude in a disconcerting jumble that misses the mark. The jungle beats sound particularly strange, as they sit on top of the melody, instead of forming the undercurrent of the song. In contrast, "The Archer" is a smoother ambient track, reminiscent of Luscious Jackson.

In fact, the album calls to mind a litany of role models, with Trickyesque trip-hop rhythms and a funky bass that resembles Jamiroquai. The filtered vocals and heavy bass undercurrents of "Ironspy" could come right out of Portishead. While Splashdown's sound is not fully coherent, Melissa Kaplan displays a wide range on vocals that is at times beautiful, and if the group can manage to unify their sound, they may produce a stronger album. For the moment, this exploratory album gets a B.