Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Tarentel – Ghetto Beats on the Surface of the Sun

This San Francisco outfit continues to red shift from its beginnings as an above average post-rock outfit in the vein of Mogwai or Explosions in the Sky. Subsequent output revealed a growing interest in improvisation, “Eternal Music”-style minimalism and probably pharmaceuticals. This limited edition double disc unleashes an avalanche of ideas, and like most avalanches there are only a handful of air pockets for those trapped in its path. The objection of too much belies the fact Ghetto Beats is likely not meant to work as a coherent statement… more of a flare-lit aggregation of tribal beat driven and ambience-heavy sketches. Long pieces like “All Things Vibrations” and “Sun Place” grow and unwind into their own ecosystems split free from greater context. Some of the shorter pieces, however, suffer from under and over-watering. All in all, if fans of Tarentel have followed this far they should have little fear wading into this foliage. Others may need to sharpen their machetes.

Temporary Residence

No comments: