I am suspicious of high profile guest musicians on anyone’s album; it’s usually a mid-career gambit  to make a lackluster record more marketable.  That doesn’t seem to be the case with Impassive Skies; Pulsinger’s instincts are to truly play with his collaborators, in both senses of the word.

In the opener “Grey Gardens,” the pure tone and soft attack of Fran’z Hautzinger’s trombone contrasts nicely with the spiky percussion patterns.  “Grey Gardens” gains funk through multple layers of drums, squelches and static bursts, over which the trombone floats like an overheard conversation.

The collaborations with  Christian Fennesz stand out, fuse dance floor energy with Fennesz’ more abstract damaged-guitar commentary. “Future Back” recalls mid-period Miles Davis, and “Impassive Skies” pairs Fennesz’ chaotically gated guitar with acoustic piano in a long, beatless intro before settling down into a space disco groove.

Less successful are appearances by vocalists on “Rise And Fall” and “A To Z.”  They’re perfectly servicable tracks —the former using the techno template, the latter verging on Electro-Pop. But compared with the Fennesz tracks, or the Elektro Guzzi collaboration “Thong,” their accessibility feels safe on a record where the risks taken are so exciting.

“Blame It” takes the middle path. The vocoded vocal hook contrasts with spooky atmospheric synth sounds and dubbed-out guitar riffs.  It is a guitar-driven track that avoids sounding like rock music. While it is indubitably dance music, it is more maximal than minimal; while never overly busy, the texture is created by several interlocking layers of sounds, rather than that One Big Synth line.

Pulsinger tries on Impassive Sky to top his earlier work;  he’s always had the knack for engaging dance tracks, but on this record he fuses that craft with more abstract, experimental sounds. The least satisfying tracks on the album are the most conventional, and vice versa.  Pulsinger isn’t afraid to get far out, but he’s never obtuse; he always tries to take the listener with him.

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