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Avg: 4.0 (155 ratings)
- Date Released: February 20, 2001
- Genre: Alternative/Punk
- Style: Alternative Experimental, Post-Rock, Electronic Experimental, Indie Rock
- Label: Thrill Jockey
A noisy, bumptious departure from the post-rock norm.
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We Say...
After following the most studious tenets of post-rock on TNT, Tortoise crinkled up the blueprint for Standards, an album that layers noise and bumptious grooves into their more cautiously moody meditations. Opening with a static splash of guitar reminiscent of free-jazz titan Sonny Sharrock, "Seneca" wanders into a tight rock beat spied from a number of different angles; laced with echo, drum-machine taps and dense drum fills played by band leader John McEntire, the rhythm swings and cackles in a way that Tortoise had tended to suffocate out in the past. "Eros" provides a great bit of body-locking electro-funk, with bonus xylophone riffs to point back toward classical minimalism. Tracks like "Firefly" slow down to a ghostly, atmospheric lull, but by "Six Pack," the same guitar and keyboard tones are galloping with something like a wink below their brooding brow. Standards shows Tortoise at their most snappy and effervescent, playing like a band stoked by expansion more than negation.
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They Say...
Revered for their ineffably clean, precise playing, Tortoise couldn't help but mess with the formula slightly on their fourth album, Standards. And from the beginning of the first track it sounds like a major overhaul, with heavily over-miced drums and distorted guitars framing a pummeling groove from bassist Doug McCombs. On the second track "Eros," the phlegmatic synthesizer lines and clipped drums are more reminiscent of experimental electronica outfit Mouse on Mars than any fellow post-rock luminaries. When the band finally hits its stride, though, midway through the third track, "Benway," it's with a quintessential Tortoise groove, driven by repetitive bass figures and a vibraphone melody (plus a hilarious nod to prog-rock at the end, with several seconds of stop-start playing). Standards does return the group to the green fields of their last record, but only occasionally; John McEntire and company appear too restless to consider making the same album twice. Ironically, despite the range of sounds, Tortoise is still doing what they've been doing for nearly a decade: playing some of the most empathic, group-minded rock of their era, then indulging in much recomposition courtesy of the mixing desk and various effects. "Monica" is one of the least Tortoise-sounding tracks the group has ever recorded; it sounds like an early-'80s pop/R&B track (complete with talkbox guitar) filtered through the lens of British IDM, but then mutates into an intriguing stereo-separation drum workout. Overall, Standards has a few detours for fans conscious of any band's "progression," but plenty of interesting songs and great musicianship for less vested listeners. Though it doesn't develop the evocative or impressionistic side of Tortoise (as heard on TNT), the band is certainly as inventive as ever.
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| 01. |  |
Seneca |
6:20 |
|
| 02. | |
Eros |
4:26 |
|
| 03. | |
Benway |
4:46 |
|
| 04. | |
Firefly |
3:56 |
|
| 05. | |
Six Pack |
3:11 |
|
| 06. | |
Eden 2 |
2:09 |
|
| 07. | |
Monica |
6:30 |
|
| 08. | |
Blackjack |
4:07 |
|
| 09. | |
Eden 1 |
2:36 |
|
| 10. | |
Speakeasy |
6:16 |
|
10 Total Tracks, 44:17 Total Length
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