Music Reviews

Fontanelle

Fontanelle

Kranky

Straight out of Portland, Oregon comes Fontanelle, a quartet featuring Andy Brown and Rex Ritter, formerly of the experimental/goth band Jessamine. The sound heard on this CD leans more towards an instrumental experimental electronic jazz – if Tortoise does a krautrock cover album with a little help from Steve Reich.

“Picture Start” is a 10 minute long minimal excursion, that is almost creepy at times, while “Niagara” is a densely layered, melodic track with subtle drums, and keyboards and guitars bounce each other almost indistinguishably. “Reflex vs. Parallax” is ridden with slowly funky, bubbling keyboards, while “29th and Going” is a spacey, electronic jazz track that brings up premonitions of a minimal Bitches Brew.

Every single track here plays off of one another beautifully – this is a must listen from start to finish. More great, refreshing work from the Chicago label, Kranky.

Kranky Records, P.O. Box 578743, Chicago, IL 60657; http://www.brainwashed.com/kranky


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