Tortoise Fail

We havent had many negative posts in the brief history of TSAD, but here comes a good one.

Here's what AllMusic has to say about Tortoise:
Tortoise revolutionized American indie rock in the mid-'90s by playing down tried-and-true punk and rock & roll influences, emphasizing instead the incorporation of a variety of left-field music genres from the past 20 years, including Krautrock, dub, avant-garde jazz, classical minimalism, ambient and space music, film music, and British electronica.

That's super. Because you know what they've been up to for the last 10 years? Making shitty music, that's what.

And this upsets me, not because I dislike them, but because I thought they were better than this. Their self-titled album released in 1994 is incredible, and what got me into their jazzy, slow-beat groove style in the first place. But after the worst concert-going experience of my life last summer, and the literal throwing away of my money when buying their latest cd 'Beacons of Ancestorship,' I think I'm done with these guys.

You know what though, to their credit, they make extremely talented noise. And so much of me wants them to be back at the top of their game. But all I can think about when I listen to them is the Simpson's episode where Lisa goes to hear some artsy electronic violinist and the guy next to her says:

Guy: [Unimpressed] Hmph, sounds like she's hitting a baby with a cat.
Lisa: You have to listen to the notes she's NOT playing.
Guy: [Still unimpressed] Pssh, I can do that at home.

Do better.