2B - Thursday, October 16, 2008 The Daily Arts guide to upcoming events in Ann Arbor and the surrounding area. Today 10.16.08 Novelist Signing: Leslie Wil- liams, author of "The Pru- dent Meriner" 7 pm. At Nicola's Books Free "Weister Concise Guide to Pracitical Astrology" Book Signing by Priscilla Costello 7 p.m. At Crazy Wisdom Free Tomorrow 10.17.08 Steve Pyke, New Yorker Staff Photographer Talk 4 p.m. In 18 Tappan Hall Free RENT presented by the UM Musical Theatre Depart- ment 8 p.m. At the Mendelssohn Theatre Tickets $18 and $24; $9 with Student ID Saturday 10.18.08 Used Book Sale and Silent Auction 9 a.m. -1p.m. At Burns Park School, 1414 Wells Free Annual Fall Display & Sale: Michgan African Violet Sociey 10 am At the UM Matthaei Botanical Gardens Free Sunday 10.19.08 Sunday Morning Cider Mill Ride with Stop at Dexter Cider Mill for Snacks 0o a.m. Meet at Barton Park, Huron River Drive Free Please send all press releases and event information to arts@michigandaily.com. TORTOISE 'Tt "TNT'-e with atn By JOSHUA BAYER For the Daily . Slow and steady wins the race. So it goes in the wide world of indie post- rock. In a music scene action-packed with balls-to-the-wall bands such as The Mars Volta and Battles, Tortoise sets itself apart from the flock by con- juring heady, atmospheric music that refuses to lay all its cards on the table. Among a discography rife with mys- tique, TNT is easily the jewel in this- enigmaticband's crown. The albumboth vies for intimacy and defies full compre- hension. It's one of those records that's marinated head-to-toe in an intangible, inarticulable bouillon that can only be described as the band's personality. Tortoise is a master of its craft, spin- ning melt-in-your-mouth tufts of sonic cotton candy. Noises are made on this record that, frankly, don't even sound like they were created by humans (or instruments, for that matter). Case in point: "Swung From the Gut- ters." After two minutes of paranoid, brooding kraut-rock, Tortoise uncorks a bottle containing all the unrefined joys of top-notch, ear-boggling post-produc- tion. Backwards drum loops trip over themselves, mutant synthesizers rum- ble and chopped-up bursts of treated guitars swarm. Listening to this song on headphones is a real treat. This is a rare album in which it's easier to describe what sort of wild images the music is evoking than to actually pinpoint the various instruments being played. With- out having seen the band live, it's nearly impossible to penetrate TNT's viscous outer layer of mystery. Not only does Tortoise cook up exceptionally visceral noises, they also layer these noises in dense, melodically unified arrangements, building surreal soundscapes out of seemingly disparate sounds. "Ten-Day Interval" begins with a twittering synth loop that sounds like it's underwater. Fairy tale bells soon chime in, then a cascading xylophone joins the jamboree, filling the empty space. All the while, a barely audible shimmering drone of white noise hov- ers low in the mix, adding texture (Tor- The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com NT' (1998) x e s 1osphere toise's "white" noise is never white, it's always swirled with color). And this is only the first minute. Pensive piano chords, jazzy guitars, a time-signature- confoundingshaker (and more) progres- sively stack on top of each other right on cue, demonstrating Tortoise's uncanny knack for timing and controlled chaos. Tortoisemakesprogressiverockthat's genuinely progressive, both in its sheer absurdity and the fact that the songs all progress in a similar (yet markedly dis- - tinct) fashion comparable to "Interval." This is music that is mobile and dynam- ic, evolving with each listen. The band's robust rhythm section prevents all this acoustic audacious- ness from collapsing in a black hole of abstraction. Rhythm spouts forth from unlikely sources throughout the album, from the ticking clocks and syncopated spectral gasps of "Almost Always Is Nearly Enough" to the glitch-damaged maniacal laugh loop in the middle of "The Equator." Tortoise finds inge- niously colorful ways to keep the beat. The band's expansive sonic vocabu- lary allows for an astonishing amount The jewel in the crown of an enigmatic band. of song-to-song diversity. This is music that will take you places. Each track is so richly constructed that it requires almost an active effort on the listener's part not to let it stimulate the imagina- tion. At the start of "I Set My Face to the Hillside," the band juxtaposes the eclec- tic noises of children at play, spaghetti Western guitar and what sounds like the low buzz of a sawmill. During moments like this, Tortoise achieves a sound that is virtually cinematic in scope. TNT is an escapist album in all senses of the word. It offers a cathartic escape into the subconscious and escapes the generic shackles that hold back so many other bands. THIS WEEKEND Two DAY OPEN HOUSE . . Friday, 5-10 Saturday, 12-5 Tour galleries, exhibition spaces, & artists & craftspeople's studios in Ann Arbor, Dexter &Ypsilanti Get maps @ www.annarborartwalk.conL