Editorial Reviews
Music Review:
Music Review
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 6 "Pastorale" & 8
Barrière: 7 sonatas for cello with basso continuo
Artie Shaw: The Complete Gramercy Five Sessions
Bach: 4 Orchestral Suites; Concerti for 3 & 4 Harpsichords
Arrival of Victor Feldman [Import]
Amazon.com
In calling its new album It's All Around You, Tortoise might be referring to the cultural universe from which it draws its expansive, one-of-a-kind sound. Try as you might to be succinct in describing the Chicago band's dreamy instrumentals, the only way to categorize them properly is to string together stylistic tags like so many Mardis Gras beads. As with a Quentin Tarantino movie, part of the pleasure is identifying and annotating the sources of the music as it unfolds, and folds back on itself. Studio-refined without being studio-slick, It's All Around You is awash in ambient pop and cool chamber jazz, hip-hop beats and more strident rhythmic feats, Spaghetti western touches, and the sound of ... opera? Just when it has you falling into its seductive spell, it will jolt you with a dose of rancorous drama. It's Tortoise's most accomplished and winning album--great fun and some kind of great art and who cares where that twain does or doesn't meet? --Lloyd Sachs
Album Description
From the deep and understated rhythms and tones on their 1996 landmark "Millions Now Living Will Never Die", to the bombastic rock of 2001's "Standards", Tortoise have always been ahead of their time. This release finds the band doing what they do best; building and rebuilding upon melodies and rhythms with their own remarkable touch. Lush, orchestrated tones, intricate melodies, and densely elaborate rhythms make this their most thoughtful record to date.