Less like Tortoise is more like Tortoise
It’s been twenty-five years, and Tortoise still haven’t settled on a sound. From their bass and drum heavy debut, to jazz-fixated classics TNT and Standards, to the abruptly electronic It’s All Around You, they’ve been challenging their core audience to hang on since bar one. But the patience of their more adventurous fans has not gone unrewarded. Each Tortoise album is a complex, well-thought-out and carefully crafted piece of art, even if it takes a few listens to come across as such.
The Catastrophist is no exception to the rule. Paradoxically enough, it’s actually the most Tortoisey album yet, in that it doesn’t really sound, well… like a Tortoise album. In fact, each track on The Catastrophist is an island unto itself, from the jarring, chiptune-esque intro of the title track to the jazz-rock-meets-rock-rock of “At Odds with Logic.” The album at large may not be as harmonious an archipelago as 2009’s stellar Beacons of Ancestorship, but perhaps that’s what makes it so thoroughly entertaining. Every track is an exciting new experience full of unique flavors and feelings, leaving no room for boredom or restlessness.
Aforementioned introduction aside, “The Catastrophist” is the most traditional post-rock slice of the pie, sounding a bit like a Hot Rats outtake less a few dozen Ian Underwood tracks. After the cold pool plunge of the intro, it’s a lovely return to a comfortable temperature. As a whole, the title track feels like it was placed at the beginning of the notably scatterbrained record as a test of listener limits. A test which, once passed, qualifies the listener to enjoy “Ox Duke,” a fabulous, Can-inspired tune featuring synth strings and, until the end, a dearth of first position bass work which seems like a sly affront to the band’s guitar-free juvenilia.
“Rock On” is just what no one would expect it to be: a cover of David Essex’s ubiquitous glam rock hallmark complete with vocals by Todd Rittmann (Dead Rider, ex-U.S. Maple/Mercury Players). Now, apart from the album of covers they released with Bonnie “Prince” Billy a while back, Tortoise have recorded less songs with vocals than can be counted on one hand. Fortunately, they are apparently quite adept at working with singers, never trampling Rittmann’s cool, slinky delivery with the intricate musicianship that makes their instrumental work so engaging. Therefore, “Rock On” is by no means a distracting detour to be skipped, but a faithful and adventurous cover that manages to rival the original.
After another foray into krautrock (the fun, all-too-brief “Gopher Island” is built on an electronic, motorik beat), the band forge ahead into delightfully sinister territory with the aptly titled “Shake Hands with Danger.” Jeff Parker’s totally fuzzed-out, angular anti-melody is eerily reminiscent of mid-70s Robert Fripp, coming together with sawtooth synth harmonies and impressively heavy percussion to create a foot stomper that would feel right at home on Larks’ Tongues in Aspic. And though the plaintive “The Clearing Fills,” all jazz guitar, piano and chintzy organ percussion, could itself be transplanted to Eno’s Another Green World without too much trouble, it ends side A of The Catastrophist quite pleasantly.
“Gesceap,” the lead single, is a lovely, Glass/Reich-inspired piece that features syncopated Farfisa organ patterns battling with minimalistic, oblique guitar and ultimately melting into a warm, analog sunset that drops off abruptly at around seven and a half minutes. The funky “Hot Coffee” changes gears yet again, coming off like an analog-era Herbie Hancock or Jeff Beck tune without leaning on any of the virtuosic tricks of either. The real stars of the tune are the fuzzy synth bass and the restrained, Miles-Davis-trapped-in-a-Sega-Genesis synth lead.
Before closing with a couple of pretty straightforward (a relative term, of course) jazz rock numbers (“Tesseract” and “At Odds with Logic,”), Tortoise delivers the second vocal track of the album (!!!), this time with the help of Yo La Tengo’s Georgia Hubley. Paired with a band that sounds like it’s coming out of a boombox, Hubley’s performance on “Yonder Blue” sounds like the most transcendent thing that ever happened at a small karaoke lounge just outside of Vegas around 1:30 AM on a Sunday night. Together with the following tracks (until the huge, plodding finale of “At Odds with Logic,” that is), it’s a well-timed breath of fresh air after the chaos of the rest of the album.
Even though Tortoise releases are taking longer and longer these days (they’re up to seven years with this one), The Catastrophist proves that they’re worth the wait. It may not be the most homogenous collection they’ve put out, but doesn’t that fit so snugly into the idiom they’ve established? Tortoise is a collection of musicians who challenge themselves to break new ground for themselves with each release. This time, they just did it with every song. What could be more Tortoise than that?
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