Tortoise - It's All Around You
(Thrill Jockey)
Tortoise's last album, Standards, was perhaps unfairly cast aside by many as "their fusion record." While Tortoise is supposed to sound completely now—at the head of the curve at synergizing musical styles using the modern studio—Standards in some ways felt like just another post-Bitches Brew studio session. Even their more pop moments, like the abbreviated Stevie Wonder-funk moments of "Monica," sounded dated.
Perhaps that had as much to do with how the album was recorded than anything else, as the group moved away from cut-and-paste manipulation after the recording to recomposition during the recording. While the jam-style recording set the tone of the album back 30 years, it also gave it a more natural feel. With the band's new album, It's All Around You, the band has moved to using a mix of both styles, taking the knowledge of the four albums behind them (and hundreds of side releases) to best decide when post-production is best utilized and when "the jam" is best utilized.
While that may convey that the album is more varied, more angular, and more imposing, it is quite the opposite; it's the most open and accessible Tortoise album to date. It's made of waves of warm sounds. It's filled with catchy beats. It's melodic and lyrical. You can even sing along... sort of. Kelly Hogan provides guest vocals to "The Lithium Stiffs," although it's not really vocals but rather the sound of liquid refreshment, as Hogan (and others) sing "ohhh," "ahhh," and other pleasure-induced sounds, creating a relaxing wash of tone. Towards the end of the song, a deliberately paced piano progression starts to build, leading into the album's standout track "Crest." Cast under the shadows of a growling bass fuzz, the band gives their most Tubular Bells-sounding use of tubular bells ever. However, the bells don't sound lite and relaxing; they sound ominous and imposing, turning this staple of soft jazz into a post-apocolyptic aggressor. After each of the bells' phrases, shiney keyboard tones drift in, completely altering the mood of the song before going back to that ominous bell melody.
The album also is filled with lots of great guitarwork from Jeff Parker. The album starts off with its title track, "It's All Around You," and longstanding Tortoise fans will feel right at home, as its pastiche of riffs from guitar, vibes, keyboard, and jumpy electronics is very reminiscent of their work on TNT. Parker's guitar riff is a grand one, though, and what all the other parts seem to be working off of. It has a very lyrical quality to it, almost like a graceful bossa nova singer, flowing into counter-melody at the end of the frame. The guitar also is at the heart of "On the Chin," this time feeling very downbeat and somber. In some ways, it is a lot like a sad country song—like something Calexico would write only without the twang—as the guitar sound seeps sentimentatilty. After recording the solo, various electronic flourishes are added in to ruffle its feathers and tweak its intonation, giving depth to the sound. Album closer "Salt the Skies" also features great guitarwork. However, this song feels much more like a more composed, full band recording than a product of cut-and-paste manipulation, and the aggresssive guitar chug places this firmly in the style of rock and roll. Vibes add melody to the sound as the guitar continues upward in power and harshness of tone, bringing the obvious climax of noise and chaos. But through this chaos, the vibes ring clear, continuing the melody as all the other instruments fuck up their sound beyond recognition, lending a helping hand to the guitar chug when it emerges through the debris-field at the close of the album.
While their are more intense and noisy moments, like the album's climax or those ominous-sounding bells, the album as a whole is pleasant and relaxing, much more so than anything Tortoise has put their name on before. Electronic adulterations to the melodies are offered as nuance, not changing the riffs but enhancing them, and as they morph and progress, the songs retain focus and cohesiveness, never trying to lose the listener with wild tangents. It's all very nice... which is not exactly what one would expect from a Tortoise record, as albums like TNT and Remixed can be divisive mindfucks. If you're willing to let Tortoise be "nice," this album is just as featured-filled as those, just more controlled and low-key in how those fits of creativity are expressed.
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