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Tortoise Album: “Tortoise [Bonus Track]”
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Tortoise [Bonus Track] |
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Release Date:2004-12-27
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Type:Unknown
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Genre:Indie Rock, Alternative Rock
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Label:Indie
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Explicit Lyrics:Yes
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UPC:4941135330395
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Review - :
An album that not only set the tone for the new Chicago {\prog rock}, but also cemented the musical niche for {@Thrill Jockey Records}. Here, multi-instrumentalists {$John McEntire}, {$Dan Bitney}, {$John Herdon}, {$Douglas McCombs}, and {$Bundy K. Brown} share equal responsibility and trust in each other, pouring out a thick stew of meditative grooves, light production experiments, and rusty guitar-string ambience -- the likes of which have rarely sounded so approachable, but this is not to say the album is a sellout leap into commercialism. There are a couple head scratchers and murky moments that fail to make much of an impact, but the quintet have spun such a rich web of mood and personality that any fall from grace barely changes altitude. Steady frontman {$McEntire} wades confidently through uncharted waters, and his strength as a producer keeps a few odd moments from sinking. {^Tortoise} sounds like a dark and wonderful garage full of dusty instruments. It's like looking at {%Avedon} photographs -- the crevices and quirky imperfections are so richly explored that they become things of beauty. Disjointed twangy guitar riffs, distant harmonic overtones, bass mumblings, and a heartbeat make up tracks like {&"Flyrod,"} and {&"Ry Cooder"} ebbs and flows organically through multiple key changes, tempos, and moods: foreboding, tense, plodding, explosive, hip, jazzy, cool, and funky (a signature piece for the band). {&"Cornpone Bunch"} briefly tips its hat to {$the Who} before unraveling a roll-the-credits finale to the disc: a bittersweet dialogue between bass, vibes, and drums than builds wonderfully to a close. The modest success of this CD proved to be a launching pad for several offshoot projects (several of which included founding members of this band), like {$Directions in Music}, {$Isotope 217}, {$Trans Am}, {$Rome}, and {$the Sea and Cake}. In subsequent releases, {$Tortoise} evolved to be a collective rather than a set roster of players. The ground broken apart by this solid debut would be tilled and cultivated by their outstanding follow-up {^Millions Now Living Will Never Die}. Roll the dice for either album; you can't lose. [A Japanese version added a bonus track.] ~ Glenn Swan, All Music Guide
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![Tortoise Album: “Tortoise [Bonus Track]”](http://www.poprockbands.com/covers_yaT/tortoise/2004_170_170_Tortoise%2520%255BBonus%2520Track%255D.jpg "Tortoise Album: “Tortoise [Bonus Track]”")
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