Tortoise Are Beacons of Ancestorship

Tortoise, the world renowned Chicago music pioneers, have returned! After a five year hiatus, the group that practically started the entire post rock movement have made their triumphant return and have released their latest opus, Beacons of Ancestorship.

Never one to stay in one place for too long, despite being away for five years, Tortoise have always been ones to push the envelope and reshape the boundaries that define their music. Beacons of Ancestorshipis no different. This sprawling eleven song affair works itself into an almost jazz like frenzy with banks of synths leading the way. Call it a modern electronic take on the jazz odyssey, Beacons of Ancestorship is a technically brilliant record that's ambience is only outdone but it's sheer imagination and reach.

If ever they've written a record that could be turned into a soundtrack Beacons of Ancestorship would be it. Your imagination will be left to run wild as the record twists and turns every which way as the record comes off like a journey in sound with peaks, valley's, drama, excitement, and moody like settings that just beg to be behind a film. Unsurprisingly, Beacons of Ancestorship is an inventive record that is unafraid to mix things up be it genre or instrumentation. It's this kind of effort that shows why Tortoise are masters of their domain. This is a group who play brilliantly, write exceptional songs, are super tight, and plot their songs with such strategy that it's almost impossible for them to be bad and to do all this without a vocalist in site is awesome.

Beacons of Ancestorshipis a return to form for Tortoise. While some of the guitar work that one would come to expect from these guys isn't here, the band more than make up for it with an album that could be a long lost Chick Corea Elektrik Band album. Proggy, jazzy, post rock mastery that's both melodic and hypnotic Beacons of Ancestorship never gets boring and for an instrumental album that's awesome.