Tortoise - Beacons of Ancestorship (Thrill Jockey)
4/5
By: Thomas Hannan
Leaving boundary pushing to the likes of protégés Animal Collective and Aphex Twin, Tortoise seem to have taken on something of a scholarly role with Beacons of Ancestorship. There's no ground being broken here that hasn't been smashed through by others, or indeed themselves, before - but there's still a lot one can learn, even more to enjoy, about the band's umpteenth record.
The cleverness in things like 'High Class Slim Came Floatin In', the album's synth heavy opener, lies in how the track seems to start and stop at arbitrary moments and yet maintains an irresistible groove amidst its sparseness. You can never second guess Tortoise because they know more about how this works than you. Yes, you. Whoever you are.
And it is in general a lot more synth based, a lot more squelchy (to use a word I can't ever imagine the band themselves using), than what you might call their 'signature' sound. The cover art might be minimal, the titles of both record and songs somewhat obtuse, but there's a weird and fantastically optimistic, welcoming feeling about the whole thing, the sound of a band revelling in creating something where nothing is quite as it initially appears. Tortoise are trying to f*ck with you on a higher level - they were never about using cheap tricks such as volume dynamics or unnecessarily complicated time signatures to get their ideas across (though tapping ones feet and simultaneously humming the guitar line to the closing 'Charteroak Foundation' might cause problems). They do things within set parameters that are far more impressive than most others who use the term 'post-rock'. It's almost as if they're accusing others of not learning the tools of the trade before abandoning them. Beacons of Ancestorship is testament to what a world of opportunity there still is in exploring combinations of things as archaic as rhythm and melody.
Certainly do not indulge any fears that this latest LP might be the sound of an old or tired band. They're having fun - 'Penumbra' suggests at least one Tortoise has a kid who's totally in to computer games nearly as much as his poppa is. They can also rock pretty hard when they want to - 'Yinxianghechengqi' is as mental as its title suggests (oddly recalling Beck's 'Novocane', but maybe that's just the bass sound) and 'Northern Something' is far more vital than any group of a similarly lengthy standing has any right to sound. But it's 'Gigantes' that succeeds this highlight in both chronology and quality; an expert exploration of the themes of repetition, groove and mood, it's the finest melding of Tortoise's craft of old with their desire to entertain new ideas that the record possesses, and is all round wonderful in myriad ways. Search it out.
The aforementioned quartet of songs, though not listed in quite their correct order, form the main body of this remarkable album. And quite a restless body it is, so eager to keep running on the spot that it's possible to forget for its duration that when Tortoise want to be beautiful, introspective, calm, few do it better. 'The Fall of Seven Diamonds Plus One' arrives to remind you that they've not lost this skill (nay, they've mastered it), nor the ability to put a ridiculous title to a brief piece of soothing instrumental guitar music. From there, things do calm down a bit 'Monument Six One Thousand' continuing the chilled vibe/incomprehensible title theme towards the record's close, this being one of those albums that knows when it's about to outstay it's welcome, and politely f*cks off before it does.
Yes, Tortoise might be comfortable exploring the rules of their chosen medium whilst others are busy valiantly disregarding them, with varying success. But it's important to remember that if anyone's afforded this right, it's these guys - after all, a good few chapters of the rulebook are in their handwriting.
Artists in this article: Tortoise, Slint, The Sea & Cake, The Breeders
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