The adage "immature artists borrow; mature artists steal" is a popular-music truism, but nowhere is it truer than in the U.K. electronicdance scene. From the rock-influenced boogie of the Chemical Brothers to the harrowing jungle corridors of Goldie and his Metalheadz, the search for unique samples and fresh beats has produced a vigorous scene where new styles emerge with startling regularity.

Ashley Wales and John Coxon of Spring Heel Jack give a sophisticated voice to the often claustrophobic nether-world of drum and bass. Originally a classical musician, Wales melds symphonic atmospheres to the melodies of guitarist Coxon (formerly of Spiritualized). Their music adheres to the now-standard drum-and-bass text – arcing synth notes, bobbing bass tones, skittering break beats – but there the ordinariness ends. Surrounding their break beats with a reverberating drone, Spring Heel sample sweeping strings, elastic saxophone, sitar, car horns, steel guitar, piano and trumpet, as well as cryptic, treated sounds, into a reverberating clamor that is equally tuneful and enigmatic. Each track resonates: "60 Seconds" parodies lounge music, with a woman cooing cheesily over mutant Brazilian percussion. "Midwest" uses a forlorn, Ennio Morricone-ish guitar triplet that echoes in an imaginary desert. "Take 3" blends chaotic percussion with what sounds like a terrorized Broadway pit band.

Whatever tack they choose to take, on 68 Million Shades ... (and the companion remix album, Versions), Spring Heel Jack expand drum and bass's language with their own musical lingo. Look for them to ride the crest of this sine wave until the next electronic prodigy comes along. (RS 753)

KEN MICALLEF