TORTOISE

A Lazarus Taxon

Genre: INDIE / ALTERNATIVE

MP3
FLAC
WAV

Boomkat Product Review:

Like most followers of alternative music, I've been a Tortoise fan for longer than I care to remember and I've accumulated so many of their records I almost don't know where to start anymore. I spent years trawling through math rock/space rock/post rock sections in every record shop i knew trying to find other bands who could successfully weld together the opposing sounds of jazz, rock, classical and prog that Tortoise made their own, and even though the band's popularity has waned since we were ushered into the new millennium, listening to any of their early albums or collaborations fills me with a childish glee that still raises the hairs on the back of my neck. Fitting then that this entire set is kicked off by arguably the band's finest moment - 'Gamera' a track which was recorded as a quasi-reinterpretation of the track 'His Second Story Island' from the first album and later appeared on 12" (and as a Japanese-only bonus track). Hearing it now as it ushers in three cds and a DVD of the bands most sought-after rarities gives it the focus it deserves; a 12 minute journey into the mind of a band at the top of their game - welding together Kraut-rock timing and structure, Steve Reich influenced looping patterns and that all important bass which would become the band's trademark - utterly breathtaking, and we're still only on the first track out of a staggering 34 . The immense compilation doesn't only give us rare Tortoise B-sides and EP tracks, it also collects the cream of their remix work and the work of others who have been kind enough to remix them. Notably we get the much saught after Autechre remixes of 'Ten Day Interval' which were released in the series of remix 12"s that followed 'TNT' (a pity Thrill Jockey didn't include the killer low-slung house remixes from Derrick Carter, but I can't have everything), and this is why Tortoise are so widely regarded - that they would let an experimental duo from the UK decompose their freeform noodling until it resembled nothing more than a piano riff floating above a slop of decayed digital noise is not only brave but it makes perfect sense. Who better to rework the meanderings of a band so unique than other unique acts? This sentiment is shown further as we are treated to remixes from the always-incredible Jim O'Rourke who turns in a 5 minute piece of powerful droning beauty, super-producer Steve Albini who records his studio (that might not sound much but trust me, it's simply got to be heard!), and an unreleased Mike Watt remix which is one of the album's surprise highlights. Of course there are countless other bounties on offer, not least the inclusion of a full length DVD which collects videos, live performances and posters. I don't think a finer Tortoise package could possibly have been put together, this is everything the fan could want and then some, for the uninitiated there could be no better place to start. Pitchfork magazine recently wrote that this could have been the finest Tortoise album never released, and I couldn't possibly disagree. Immense.

MP3 Release (33)