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Tortoise - TNT (1998)

Tortoise's third full-length offering! This one is special in how it features two main guitarists: Jeff Parker and David Pajo, when they coexisted in the band :)

For what it's worth, it's an extension of their unique brand of post-rock that they honed in their previous album, and as multifaceted as that album's "Djed" might be, I think TNT's tracks are a more accessible taste of the many textures they can craft in their music, so many (and so good at them too!) that it has to be called by the umbrella term of "post-rock".

It's a remarkably chilled out listen, where even the most upbeat moments are quite subdued :3

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TNT

From the very start it's pretty interesting in the way the double drums intertwine and clash with each other, and it's such an endearing moment when the guitar finally comes in on top of the foundation they've built. There's this warm tension that holds the song together throughout, provided by the whole ensemble of instruments coalescing together with a fluffy quality :3

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Swung from the Gutters

After the blissful opening tho, this track throws us into a completely different mood, with dark chords softly strummed and an irresistible tribal-like drum beat. The contrast is a perfect display of the wide array of textures these guys can conjure up. My fav part is the middle section, with a more driving rhythm and unsteady instruments which can bring the song into pretty chaotic territory live!

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Ten-Day Interval

Percussion rules in this one, though in a more subdued way than it sounds. The insistent arpeggios keep the song grounded in a mesmerizing way, and on top of them harmony unfolds giving the song quite a melancholic feel

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I Set My Face to the Hillside

Easily the most obvious musical niche they tap in on this record. To me it struck as gimmicky at first, something I'm not very fond of in my music, but they manage to pull it off in a very proficient way which is still tinted with their own personal touch. Those keyboard swells in the last section are golden :')

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The Equator

The contemplative mood stays on, but with a little more bounce to it in this track. Here, a chirping, swung drum rhythm nicely complements the tender instrumentation, with the guitar slightly in the foreground. That and the atmospheric pads make this listen quite a cozy one, sort of like a cooldown

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A Simple Way to Travel Faster Than the Speed of Light That Does Not Work

Speaking of cooldowns, this one does the job pretty well. With a sparse bassline and somewhat jittery drums, this one barely does much to stand out. Much like the simple way, it doesn't quite work xD

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The Suspension Bridge at Iguazú Falls

The way the beginning phrase comes in sounds like some sort of premonition (or maybe just a fancy doorbell xd), with quite attractive synchronization between the players. After all, it shifts into another cutesy marimba-driven tune. For Tortoise, this means we're back on track

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Four-Day Interval

This one is even more subdued than its sister track. Whereas "Ten-Day Interval" was bright and hopeful, this one is dark and barren. It focuses on lower frequencies instead, which make for a more meditative tune, and paired with the key it's in, it makes it my favorite from the two "_-Day Interval" tracks :3

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In Sarah, Mencken, Christ, and Beethoven There Were Women and Men

They incorporate electronics in this one much more prominently which makes it pretty cool :3 Not to disregard that very chill bassline tho. It's one of the groovier tracks in this, and I could attribute that to the electronic mingling throughout it. My fav part is the ambient passage which concludes the track in a kind of subterranean sounding way, where it's stripped down to its soul only

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Almost Always Is Nearly Enough

And if it wasn't electronic enough for you, this next song has like no analog instruments xD I'm sure the last thing you'd expect as a first-time TNT listener is a drum 'n' bass track... well, Tortoise simply got you well catered for. It's pretty dry-sounding at that too, which makes it just the right amount of intangible, and I gotta admit that it makes it one of my favs.

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Jetty

After that passage the electronic aspect is embraced with this version of a song by another band that shares members with Tortoise. It's chilled out, but peppy at the same time, and I personally like the fact that it takes its time to set in the overall structure and feel (it only really comes together by the middle point, like 4 minutes in!). Of course, the more organic instruments are back and sparkling for this one :)

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Everglade

Eventually it had to come full circle tho, and that's the purpose of this closer. Probably more optimistic than its fellow bookend, but just as fluffy. Also more chilled out in comparison - it feels like it's soaring at points. It ends with mostly drums too, a pretty atmospheric ending to a richly textured album.