Eleventh Dream Day

I really liked Riot Now!, the latest from intermittent Chicago-land post-rockers Eleventh Dream Day, out a week or so ago on Thrill Jockey.

My review, which was also in the print magazine, is up today at Blurt.

It’s short, but here’s the main bit:

Rizzo and co-founder Janet Beveridge Bean share vocals, Rizzo's a serrated growl made for cutting through bullshit, Bean's a shock of melodic sweetness and light. A conversation rumbles underneath between Tortoise bassist Doug McCombs and Bean on drums. Keyboard player Mark Greenberg locks in on organ, transforming repetition into hypnosis on album highlight "Sonic Reactor." The tune slows and dirties a classic soul riff, using Keith Richards' trick of playing horns on guitar. Later a long psychedelic solo careens over the rhythmic pulse, a bit of chaos integrated into the album's tightest beat. Softer, more melodic, but just as powerful is "That's What's Coming," whose folky contours bend under the force of wailing guitars. "Freefall is the best/It's when you can't rest," sings Rizzo on the track.

The review in its entirety can be found here.


“Satellite”