It's All Around You

Tortoise

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 6, 2004)
• Original Release Date: April 6, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Thrill Jockey
• ASIN: B0001EMW06
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #139,780 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. It'S All Around You

2. The Lithium Stiffs

3. Crest

4. Stretch(You Are All Right)

5. Dot/Eyes

6. On The Chin

7. By Dawn

8. Five Too Many

9. Salt The Skies

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

In calling its new album It's All Around You, Tortoise might be referring to the cultural universe from which it draws its expansive, one-of-a-kind sound. Try as you might to be succinct in describing the Chicago band's dreamy instrumentals, the only way to categorize them properly is to string together stylistic tags like so many Mardis Gras beads. As with a Quentin Tarantino movie, part of the pleasure is identifying and annotating the sources of the music as it unfolds, and folds back on itself. Studio-refined without being studio-slick, It's All Around You is awash in ambient pop and cool chamber jazz, hip-hop beats and more strident rhythmic feats, Spaghetti western touches, and the sound of ... opera? Just when it has you falling into its seductive spell, it will jolt you with a dose of rancorous drama. It's Tortoise's most accomplished and winning album--great fun and some kind of great art and who cares where that twain does or doesn't meet? --Lloyd Sachs

Product Description

From the deep and understated rhythms and tones on their 1996 landmark "Millions Now Living Will Never Die", to the bombastic rock of 2001's "Standards", Tortoise have always been ahead of their time. This release finds the band doing what they do best; building and rebuilding upon melodies and rhythms with their own remarkable touch. Lush, orchestrated tones, intricate melodies, and densely elaborate rhythms make this their most thoughtful record to date.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As good as music gets, December 28, 2005

By	whistle - See all my reviews

I have been a Tortoise fan since the late 90s, but never as committed as I have been since Standards was released. I approached It's All Around You with caution because I anticipated disappointment. At first, I agreed with all of the reviews that I had read. The album seemed to merely exist as another Tortoise album with no movement forward.

While I must admit that this is not a giant leap from Standards in terms of a cohesive album, it is the better of the two albums, in my opinion. Namely because of the climax that this album reaches. Standards almost appears to front load the best ideas while It's All Around You saves the best for last.

The first track threw me off because it is easy to dismiss it as close to random instrumentation with a solid (slightly simple) bass track. But it is so much more. Upon a couple of repeated listens, that song, like the rest of the album, revealed much more structural ingenuity. The multiple instruments that take part in the melody bounce off of one another and it becomes difficult to tell when a guitar ends and a vibraphone picks up. But the instruments are not to be observed seperately. Listening to how they compliment each other and form a beautiful melodic series is devestatingly brilliant. I posit that the first song sounds unlike anything that Tortoise has done before.

The entire album is phenomenal, but I would like to highlight the last song. This is where I really believe this album shines the most. Never before have I heard a band capture increasing intensity in a drum performance so well on tape. The song builds and builds and the instrumentation perfectly compliments the drums throughout this climactic process.

I hear far too often that this album is more of the same. If the same means being a mind-blowingly awesome band time after time, I hope that they don't change a thing.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars familiar, mellower, tighter, but still killer, April 22, 2004

By	wordtron (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

just saw these guys at ny's bowery ballroom and hearing them live it's easy to figure out what's different about these new songs compared to their older stuff. in many ways, everything pre-standards is still amazing, especially live, because of the strong song structures, which are very architectural and decontructivist, literally. you see, hear and feel how the songs are built layer upon layer, building and building to the inevitable crumble and stumble that comes back satisfyingly to the original motif. i think beginning with standards, the songwriting has become much, much tighter, so that you almost don't notice the amazing musicianship at times. but also, the design of the songs is less apparent, and so sometimes, in comparison to the older tortoise sound, the new songs feel a might boring, especially with the slow jams. but when you experience this stuff live, you realize nothing has changed and these new songs rock just as much as the old ones. (also, i think one of the reasons it may feel like they're stalling, musically, is that the instrumentation hasn't changed: two vibraphones, two drum kits, bass, synth/effects, jazz guitar; hopefully on the next album they'll mix up the sounds some.) the double drumming live is killer. they played for nearly two hours and seemed really into it, as was the crowd. the opening act beans from anti-pop consortium was amazing as well.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing., December 18, 2004

By	Phinkus - See all my reviews

This CD is just awesome. I love it. The first time I heard this, i was in awe, from the first track. I've probably listened to it over 30 times and it's still awesome. If you like this album, you'll like TNT and Millions Now Living Will Never Die. Tortoise is amazing.