TORTOISE STANDARDS ALBUM THRILL JOCKEY, WARP RELEASE: FEBRUARY 19, 2001 REVIEW: FEBRUARY 27, 2001

The problem with so much post rock is that it’s so much “post” and so little “rock”. Post modern, post jazz, post song structures, post interesting. What many of the bands in the (non-) genre don’t seem to realise is that you can actually make a good racket and have big brains at the same time.
I honestly thought that Tortoise had come to some sort of turning point with their new album “Standards”. And the first couple of minutes are no less than astonishing. A wall of rattling percussion and twanging guitars, like riding into the sunset in a kraut western, builds up the tension. So when the album kicks in for real, it is a huge anti-climax to notice that they’re not really into making noise at all, but rather just want to prove what skilled musicians they are.
The problem with this isn’t that Tortoise lack good ideas, but that they don’t know how to hold on to them. They might think that their constantly changing song structures make them jazzy, but they lack all the flaming intensity of their idols, and often rather turn into some sort of music-for-musicians showcase.
That said, there is enough fantastic passages in this album to justify listening through it now and then.
But Tortoise desperately lack the edge of the punk scene they were brought up with. They should sound like souls on fire, burning flags, or a SCUD missile right into the White House.
If they managed to bring their musicality together, they could be a great band, “post” or not. Someone should tape them to a chair and make them listen to The Stooges and KMFDM’s “Xtort” until they vow to record a punk album.

KRISTOFFER NOHEDEN