Review: Tortoise – “Beacons of Ancestorship”
Tortoise
Beacons of Ancestorship
(Thrill Jockey)
First of all, I have to mention that the press info that came with this album refers to Harold Bloom’s The Anxiety of Influence in its opening sentence. I’m not saying that’s good, or bad, I’m just pointing it out. I actually own a t-shirt with Harold Bloom’s picture on it. I also figure if I mention Harold Bloom a few more times, then people who google Harold Bloom might happen upon thephiller.com hoping to find out some literary stuff authored by Harold Bloom (come to think of it, a friend of mine has written a couple books for Harold Bloom’s series of introductions to various literary figures—that’s given me another opportunity to mention Harold Bloom) and realize they’ve stumbled on the most semi-literate music website the internet has to offer.
Anyway, to the music. The eight-and-a-half minute “High Class Slim Came Floatin’ In” opens “Beacons of Ancestorship” and sets the tone for what might very well be Tortoise’s best album. There’s a lot of synthesizer sounds, and along with the percussion, they create a vibe that’s more of a strut than a float, and for the first couple minutes you can just about sing the title along to the music, before everything takes a turn for the stacatto and stumbling, the song breaking itself into different, often overlapping pieces, then quieting down, then building back up into something altogether more guitar-bass-drum, straight-up rock, with a couple different keyboard sounds cycling back into the mix as the rock drives forward, then dissipates, and the waves of synthesizers collect on shore, and retreat.
From here on out, Tortoise spend the entire album doing what you’ve come to like them doing, which is to say, being Tortoise, and firing on all cylinders. “Prepare Your Coffin” could soundtrack a copshow from the 1970s, bright guitar lines and a medium-fast pace. Rock, soul, funk, marching band drumline, rattling bucketboy percussion, flamenco, electronica, hip-hop, and on and on: musical styles float in and out, play around in the sandbox with one another, but always building coherently structured songs, and a cohesive sound that develops over the course of the whole album.
I know that in response to the “may very well be Tortoise’s best album” Tortoise fans are going to say “What about Millions Now Living Will Never Die,” and I’ll respond and say, yeah, I know, I know, but this album gives it a run for its money.
Alexisonfire – Old Crows/Young Cardinals
The Antlers – Hospice
Birds of Avalon – Uncanny Valley
Christina Courtin – Christina Courtin
The Cliks – Dirty King
The Dear Hunter – Act III: Life and Death
Deastro – Moondagger
Deer Tick- Born on Flag Day
Donny Hue and the Colors – A Letter to New Virginia
Foreign Born – Person To Person
Future of the Left – Travels With Myself And Another
God Help The Girl – God Help The Girl
The Gossip – Music for Men
Hermit Thrushes – Slight Fountain
Patterson Hood – Murdering Oscar (And Other Love Songs)
Phenomenal Handclap Band – Phenomenal Handclap Band
Regina Spektor – Far
Royal City – Royal City
Sunset Rubdown – Dragonslayer
Tom Brosseau – Posthumous Success
Tortoise – Beacons Of Ancestorship
Various Artists – Away We Go (soundtrack)
