Headset: Spacesettings
Plug Research

On paper, Spacesettings promises much. Consider: Plug Research founder Allen Avanessian and Jimmy Tamborello (Dntel, The Postal Service) are the masterminds behind Headset, a progressive hip-hop-electronic-jazz project that includes sonic stylings from John Tejada, Daedelus, and Thomas Fehlmann and MC contributions from Beans, Non-GENETIC (Shadow Huntaz), Subtitle, and one Lady Claw. So why, then, does the musical result disappoint?

One needn't look far for the explanation. In almost every case, a track's strengths are deflated by corresponding weaknesses. To wit: opener “Then Again” boasts a blipping synth hook that lodges in the memory, but it's paired with skeletal beats that drag. On “Jaw Modulation,” Bean's rap has a stumbling, awkward flow that doesn't jibe with the loping beat. Subtitle's turn on “Breath Contrails” impresses but more for its rapid, energized delivery which makes the other MCs sound exhausted by comparison; still, by song's end you'll never want to hear the words “breath control” again, and behind him lies the same tired, lagging tempo.

The instrumentals don't fare much better. Both “Outward Sound” and “Previously Smooth Sophistication” begin promisingly with jazzy flute soloing and bright guitar plucking, respectively, but they're shackled by static backings; similarly, the Tejada-Avanessian head-nodder “Dunno” doesn't develop except for some ineffectual voice mutterings. One anticipates that Thomas Fehlmann might inject “Sound Of A Squint” with some of his customary effervescence; unfortunately, whatever life its exotic atmosphere might have is drained by its funereal tempo, making the album end lugubriously like some animal gradually weakening before death.

One song on Spacesettings does emerge unscathed. Backed by a portentous orchestral backdrop and propelled by marching percussive clatter, a double-tracked Lady Claw attacks her distinctive Japanese rhymes in “Grasping Claw” with aplomb—a standout on this otherwise flawed set. Obviously, it's a shame that only one track can be recommended without qualification, especially when the cumulative talent of its participants is taken into consideration.

October 2004