Standards

Across Standards' compact ten tracks, John McEntyre has contrived an effortless balance between the analogues of guitar/bass/drum and the processed clip, squelch and filter of the studio desk.

Comparisons suggest themselves immediately - it seems recent collaborations with Stereolab and Smog have paid rich (and inspirational) dividends - echoes of Bill Callaghan's noirish melancholia sound quietly throughout the gorgeous 'Firefly'. And 'Sixpack's marimba-slinkiness calls to mind the 'Lab in one of their less grindingly-repetitive moments, with the added bonus of trademark Tortoise 'amp in a crystal submarine' guitar.

Strangely I'm even reminded, by the precision dynamics of 'Eros', of what Korn might have turned out like if they hadn't bunked off their xylophone lessons to snort PCP off comic books.

For a band of supposed studio boffins, Tortoise are renowned for their frequently mesmeric live turns, and 'Blackjack' and the hip-hop tinged 'Eden' replicate this locked-groove urgency with style to spare.

An unexpectedly warm, optimistic and cerebral return to form, Standards raises the bar for 2001 and marks a career high for McEntyre and crew. Shell out.