at a glance...

Hometown: Chicago, IL
Year Formed: 1991

Members:
John McEntire
Doug McCombs
John Herndon
David Pajo
Dan Pitney

Bands In The Family:
The Sea and Cake, Trans Am, Stereolab, The High Llamas

Notes:
Tortoise's members came together through the Chicago underground, to which they had all gravitated in hopes of finding the spirit of punk rock. Their experimental ethos went in a different direction on their second album, Rhythms, Resolutions and Clustered, where the band collectively remixed the songs on their debut. This interest in remix culture crested with "Djed," the 20-minute abstract sampler's paradise which introduced third LP Millions Now Living Will Never Die and began to attract the attention of instrumental hip-hoppers and junglists. Soon Tortoise were hailed as godfathers of the American "post-rock" movement, a tag they despise but which seems to have relevance to the legion of similar-sounding bands that emerged in 1996-97. Tortoise released fourth album TNT in early 1998.

Tortoise went through a lot of changes to get to TNT. But it was with this album's predecessor, Millions Now Living Will Never Die that they made their artistic breakthrough, settling into a Krautrock/trip-hop wonderland all their own. After years in the indie rock wilderness, they were suddenly one of the world's most important bands.

So with TNT, of course, they scrap the formula. Out go the hip-hop loops, in come the wild junglist freakbeats. And just as Tortoise update their electronic side with the freer forms of jungle, their rock side gets cut loose by a healthy dose of jazz.

Luckily, they explore their freedom without leaving the listener behind. Despite moving further away from song structures, they've packed TNT with more melodic and rhythmic hooks than they've ever used before. The guitars and vibes, once gears in the Tortoise groove machine, step up to carve tunes out of the sonic lawlessness. Don't expect anything as accessible as pop, but TNT offers the listener more points of entry than almost any contemporary jazz or jungle.

Barring some ill-advised retro jazz-funk in the album's later stages, this is one sonic journey that rarely gets sidetracked. It's a trip worth taking.

If you like Tortoise, check out:
Tortoise Millions Now Living Will Never Die
Mogwai Come On Die Young
Tortoise + The Ex In The Fishtank
Spring Heel Jack 68 Million Shades
Red Snapper Prince Blimey
The Dylan Group it's all about (rimshots and faulty wiring)

-- jf