TORTOISE

This album is an alltime classic and a transcendent moment for the US indie music scene. During the ascent of the grunge phenomena, every band looking for a record deal forgot all their chops, put on flannel and made themselves as ugly as possible.

Every band looking to make a mark with their chops went to independent labels like Thrill Jockey. Tortoise and its subsequent albums formed the cornerstone of the Thrill Jockey influence and popularized the template (first laid out by the band Slint, or mayyyybe Talk Talk, in my opinion) for the whole post rock operation. The best post rock in my eyes is ambient music with virtuosic intstrumentalists playing with a rock slant. It can be listened to intently or treated as background noise.

This debut album gets great marks for both and truly is a winner across the board. I equate this album - not musically really - to another prog favorite of mine, Goblin's 1976 Roller. Inspired by the times, deftly pulling out all the stops - short, riveting, intense, and exciting.