Synths, synths and more synths – and 1970s synths too… I’m liking this!

Those were my first thoughts when listening to Seattle-based experimental collective High Pulp’s latest album, Pursuit Of Ends. But repeated listens reveal something than just 1970s retro jazz-rock Moog-iness: High Pulp draw on everything from bebop to hip-hop, punk to indie shoegaze, alt to electro and all points inbetween.

Beginning with ‘Ceremony’, a synth-led instrumental, the band moves through a complex horn-section arrangement before sax solos appear over the swirling electronic background. 'Blaming Mercury', meanwhile, begins with electric guitar, and opens up into a lush, widescreen cinematic soundscape, with overlapping horn melodies and a laid-back but complex drum groove. It reminds me of a kind of vintage futurism, melding Miles’ 1970s fusion experiments with rich Ellingtonian orchestrated majesty and non-jazz elements taken from the likes of Aphex Twin and My Bloody Valentine. Pursuit of Ends balances carefully worked out composition with spontaneity and virtuoso musicianship and makes judicious use of a network of star collaborators such as sax star Jaleel Shaw (Roy Haynes, Mingus Big Band), harpist Brandee Younger (Ravi Coltrane, The Roots). Simultaneously lush and raw, it’s a keeper.