STANDARDS

A heady mix of electronic noise, post-rock textures, and free jazz and fusion outbreaks, Standards finds Tortoise in a somewhat more abrasive mood than on TNT or Millions Now Living Will Never Die. I'm inclined to agree with zravkapt on ProgArchives' assessment that there's something about the sound of Standards which might put listeners in mind of RIO material - not that it sounds anything particularly close to the sound of Henry Cow, Samla Mammas Manna, Univers Zero or other RIO founders, but there's the same inspiration that Henry Cow sometimes showed to take a leaf out of the free jazz playbook and see just how far rock music can be exploded. A worthwhile experiment, but the nature of any experiment is that some experiments will be successful and some will fail, and Tortoise aren't quite selective enough with their cuts here to cull out the occasional failed experiment.