Tortoise

Who needs vocals? From the krautrock/dub/vibraphone onslaught of "Djed" and the punk-jazz fusion of "The Taut and Tame" to the noir shuffle of "Along the Banks of Rivers," this 1996 LP helped push the boundaries of indie rock in the '90s. If there ever was an album that made it seem like anything's possible, this is it.

This is where things are really getting interesting – out on the far margins, where risk,
spontaneity and contempt for easy definition count for a lot more than chops, tunes and
the is-it-or-isn't-it-alternative argument. These three records are rock mostly by
association: There are guitars aplenty, and there is some serious riffing going on, especially
on the Crimson disc. But on Millions Now Living Will Never Die, the Chicago group... More >

Obviously not stupid, which I can understand means a lot to them after their troubled childhoods, these guys are the class of the American post-rock cough cough hack hack movement ptooey ptooey. But I would direct their attention to the British band Mark-Almond, a now forgotten jamming unit that achieved real sales and a measure of hip around the time they were born. Not that I necessarily think these "eclectic," consciously unspacy, all too unhurried soundscape improvisations are destined for the same degree of obscurity. Patterns of culture have changed, and in a boutique economy, this sh*t, like all other sh*t, is probably here to stay. Still, there are surer roads to posterity. Best moment: the lead bassline, lifted directly from "Poptones" (by PiL, kids). (Grade - B-)