post rock – Rad/ATL

With Touch (International Anthem/Nonesuch), Tortoise takes a deliberate step forward, refining and reimagining the motoric pulse and Krautrock undercurrents that ran through 2016’s The Catastrophist (Thrill Jockey). The Chicago-Portland-LA-based ensemble has always thrived on subtlety—those interlocking rhythms and textural sleights of hand that reveal new details with every listen. Here, the group hones that language to near perfection. Songs such as “A Title Comes,” “Axial Seamount,” and “Organesson” inhabit familiar terrain, yet each one breathes with renewed clarity and intent. There’s no need for grand reinvention when refinement feels this purposeful.

The album’s cool, monochromatic hue contrasts the warmer analog tones of earlier releases, creating a sense of precision and poise that’s both cerebral and deeply human. The production places every element exactly where it needs to be, crafting an atmosphere that’s minimal yet immersive. “Night Gang,” with its twangy, Morricone-inspired guitar lines, closes the record with an air of cinematic grandeur that is self referential while marking a turn into a brave new world.

Tortoise: From left to right: Jeff Parker, Dan Bitney, Douglas McCombs, John Herndon, and John McEntire. Photo by Heather Cantrell.

With Touch, Tortoise sounds as vital as ever: confident, contemplative, and completely in control of their craft. It’s an album that rewards patience and close listening, unfolding in waves of understated brilliance that reaffirm the band’s quiet mastery of mood and motion.

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Three years in the making, Total Peace’s self-titled debut album comes out of the gate strong with volume and urgency. What began as a neighborly chat between Michelle Williams and Matt Cherry during the peak of COVID isolation turned into a full-fledged band grounded in old school human interaction and no-frills songwriting.

Cherry is best known for slinging layered and complex guitar parts in the psychedelic post rock outfit Maserati. Here, he trades his effects pedals for a bass and a microphone. His voice is heavy, tuneful, and raw in songs such as “Taped Up,” “Trance,” and “Slipped.” It’s a bold pivot that calls to mind the ramped up energy of Gang of Four’s Entertainment! and the introspective back-and-forth between Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd throughout Television’s Marquee Moon—all driven by the sheer exuberance of the Stooges’ Self-titled LP. The riffs are bold and the rhythms are undeniable, reveling in the power of repetition.

Guitarists Williams and Craig Gates and drummer Greg Stevens round out the lineup with a compelling synergy. Stevens and Williams share roots in Atlanta’s early aughts indie rock band Red Level 11. Their chemistry grounds the record’s driving pulse, as they thrive on stripped-down dynamics—no synths and no nonsense.

There is no concept at work here per se, but Cherry says, “Michelle and I are neighbors in Inman Park. She has a bunch of historical documents about people and events on our street in the 1910s and 1920s that we thought were interesting. Several of the songs are loosely about those things. Other songs,” he goes on to says,” “are about different topics ranging from fictional characters to various midlife crises and dark thoughts.”

Recorded live at Maze Studios in Reynoldstown with engineer Ben Etter (Erasure, Washed Out, Nikki and the Phantom Callers) and mastered by Joel Hatstat (Bambara, We Vs. the Shark, Liz Durrett), this self-titled debut leans into its compact and hook-laden energy. “Tom Talbot,” “Mold Blue” and “Be Free” dance on a tightrope between post-punk tension and anthemic release. There’s a visceral joy in cranking it up for the sake of catharsis, and Total Peace hits like a welcome jolt of electricity.

Catch Total Peace’s live debut at Waller’s Coffee Shop on Friday, August 15, with Go Public and Tall Fences. 6-10 p.m.

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Tag: post rock

RECORD REVIEW: Tortoise sharpens the edges of its hypnotic pulse with new album, ‘Touch’

Record review: Total Peace comes out of the gate strong with self-titled debut