Fingathing ‎– And The Big Red Nebula Band

With their 3rd album, Fingathing splits their time between, arguably, the two best hip-hop labels in the UK: Ninja Tune and Grand Central. _And the Big Nebula Band_ seems to have more of a cohesive theme than their earlier albums, and space travel seems to suit them well. Their trademark sense of humor is still there, as it their strong beatcrafting, but this album seems to rely less on dextrous sampling than previous work ("Rock the Whole Planet" excepted) -- which is not necessarily a bad thing. As well, the overall tone of the album is less frenetic than their previous albums: compare the dreamy, meditative "Lady Nebula" to the earlier tracks that appear on )on _Time Capsule_. So even if "Open a Door" sounds suspiciously like a Western, it's merely a brief interlude before shooting into outer space with "Themes from the Big Red" (though, are those echoes of Led Zeppelin I hear towards the end there?). "Bolus" engages in some old-skool electro, while "Big Bang" goes for some mysterious strings to emphasize the skittering beat structure. The kitschy 60s throwback of "Music to Watch Aliens By" has a sneaky sense of fun, while "Synergy" leans more on the twitchy side. An thoroughly enjoyable album.