Even though Tortoise has been active in the past few years —
collaborating with Bonnie “Prince” Billy on a covers album and
releasing a rarities collection — Beacons of Ancestorship is their first new batch of original tunes since 2004’s It’s All
Around You. Though the band seem to pride themselves on pushing the
envelope, Beacons of Ancestorship opens in approximately the
same sonic space as their last album — namely, electronica. “High
Class Slim Came Floatin’ In” is a proggy eight-minute piece that
thankfully isn’t a harbinger of what’s to come.
“Northern Something” is full of synthy blasts and driving drums,
while “Gigantes” snuggles up next to techno and “Penumbra” sounds like
something from an 8-bit Nintendo game. But, on tunes like “Prepare Your
Coffin” and “Yinxianghechengqi,” Tortoise seem intent on shattering
their post-rock chains: The former sounds tailor-made for the urgent
vocals of Michael Stipe circa 1983, while the latter sounds a bit like
Detroit scuzz outfit the Dirtbombs. “Monument Six One Thousand” seems
straight out of the ’90s house scene, while “de Chelly” could be a lost
Wendy Carlos composition. The album’s got traditional Tortoise tracks
like the meandering “The Fall of Seven Diamonds Plus One” and the
mysterious “Minors.” But Tortoise never really seem comfortable
retreading their past glories, and the few moments they do that here
are the most forgettable. —Willets
This article appears in Jun 24-30, 2009.
