Since the early 80s, Andy Jackson has worked as a sound engineer and co-producer for Pink Floyd and its members.
Signal To Noise is his own sombre and subdued musical journey, focusing on atmosphere and mood more than hooks and virtuosity. Ambient underpinnings and a downbeat space-rock vibe pervade the album, with few tracks getting above a crawl, tempo-wise. While it doesn’t sound like Floyd, the band’s influence looms in tracks like Invisible Colours with its semi-tribal feel, and in the oft-used, simple and effective two-part vocal harmonies, as in Brownian Motion. Less obvious points of reference might be Robbie Robertson and Chris Rea – the tone and texture of the guitar sounds and the low-register, borderline mumble of much of the lead vocals bring to mind songs like Somewhere Down The Crazy River and The Road To Hell (check out One More Push especially). The result is a collection of hypnotic, taut compositions with an intensity that often feels claustrophobic, with all manner of sonic effects and manipulated sounds going on in the background. This is late-night, headphones-on music.
