Tortoise - "Oganesson"

For the first time in nearly a decade, there's new music on the way from Tortoise.

These days, when you think about post-rock (if you do at all), you probably like of the giants like Explosions in the Sky, Sigur Rós, Mogwai, or Godspeed You! Black Emperor. All of those bands are experts at conveying the genre's notable styling of quiet-heavy-quiet dynamics to shape their sounds into swelling, monumental epics. All of those bands rock, but on the other side of the post-rock coin are bands like Tortoise who bring a more of a jazz influence into the idea of a guitar, bass, and drum led band making music that isn't your typical rock music. While they were dominant in the '90s with landmark albums like TNT or Millions Now Living Will Never Die, the band hasn't been very active in the past decade. Today, however, changes all of that. The band is set to perform this evening at Big Ears, a music festival in Tennessee, and earlier today they shared "Oganesson," their first piece of new music in nine years. The current line-up of the band consists of Jeff Parker on guitar, Dan Bitney on synthesizers, Douglas McCombs on bass, John Herndon on percussion and electronic percussion, and John McEntire on drums and you wouldn't be wrong to think that this sounds a lot like the music Jeff Parker has been putting out on his own over the past few years. There's also elements of the work John McEntire did with Sam Prekop on their excellent collaboration Sons of from 2022. You also wouldn't be wrong in thinking this is pretty great. The jazz inflections here are on point and the band weaves their pieces together in flawless chaos, keeping control of the moment while each musician meanders throughout the groove before congealing together in a bit of static to close things out. This is being billed as the first preview from "a larger body of work to be released soon via International Anthem & Nonesuch Records," which indicates the band has left their long-time home on Thrill Jockey in favor of one of the most prolific labels in modern jazz music. It's an ideal pairing and an incredible indicator of what is coming next for this impressive group. It's news you didn't know you needed, but news you're very glad to have recieved.