“Post-rock” might be the vaguest term in music vernacular, though it’s difficult to find another word that best represents the fusion that Tortoise has managed to produce. As interest in free-form jazz and experimentation with rock mingled together in the Chicago underground scenes of the late 80s and 90s, the genre amalgam that defined Tortoise felt inevitable. Their first album since 2016, and ninth total, Touch preserves this style. At only 38 minutes, this album layers unwavering drums, psychedelic kraut-rock elements, and gentle guitar ambiences, with Tortoise’s classic vibraphone sprinkled on top, building an immersive atmosphere and reinstituting the group as some of the most interesting innovators in post-rock.
Though Tortoise might have started in Chicago, the band members hail from a variety of places, Long Island, Portland, Virginia, etc, and have pursued a variety of other musical pursuits that likely play into the development of Tortoise’s style over time. John McEntire, especially, has worked across an assortment of projects, playing with Seam, Stereolab, and The Sea and the Cake; he now owns an electronic music studio, Soma, where Touch was mixed. Dan Bitney, drummer John Herndon, and guitarist Jeff Parker have also been involved with Isotope 217, another experimental rock group formed in 1997. Parker’s strong participation in the jazz scene also undoubtedly influences the looser elements of Tortoise’s sound.
A highlight of the album is the outro, ominously titled “Night Gang.” It has a particularly cinematic feel, as if driving through some cyber dystopia of neon lights and floating highways. The song features a stronger bass than other songs, interweaving sporadic synths calmed by electronic melodies that resemble distorted flutes. In contrast, the opener, “Vexations,” brings you in with upbeat, almost dancey drums, as well as simpler but nevertheless appealing riffs, beeps, and piano melodies. By the end of the track, it’s evolved towards a chaotic atmosphere that leans into a distorted chaos.
As fun as the complex rhythms and unabiding layering are in this record, occasionally, something feels slightly off. Tortoise recorded the album between Portland, Los Angeles, and Chicago, dislocating the standard methods of the creative process and in-person collaboration. Members developed demos individually, periodically working together when possible to develop the final album. A purely instrumental album recorded in a somewhat long-distance manner could be stripping the music and the process of a certain humanity, leaving a slightly distasteful mechanical character to what is already such a technical genre of music. Recording an album in this manner reduces the natural spontaneity and chemistry of musicians working together, making the overall sound a little less natural than it would have been. Though, dispersed in three different cities, Touch, albeit, does show the band’s persistence in overcoming logistical disadvantages, and the quality of the result is impressive for this manner of composition. With 30 years of making music together, Tortoise has likely reached a level of musical chemistry with each other that would create an especially cohesive sound when together, and we don’t get to experience this on Touch. Though, their extensive experience working with each other nevertheless means they otherwise pull off this unconventional method of composition, continuing their tradition of innovation, not just in genre, but in technique.
It’s largely redeemed from any faults, however, through exceptional boldness. In comparison to, for example, their 1996 album Millions Now Living Will Never Die, Touch handles a level of intricacies and genre-bending that only experienced and matured musicians could bring together so smoothly. Touch, in a way, is exactly what is to be expected from a now over 30 year old group – it’s highly complex, able to build richer atmospheres and take its listeners on new journeys, even if a little overly technical, but nevertheless, it doesn’t stray incredibly far from their original sound. As the familiar soft melodies of “A Title Comes” juxtapose percussion heavy tracks like “Oganesson” and mingle with funky electronic grooves like “Elka,” Touch undeniably is the sound of a matured band, able to handle a variety of genres without feeling abrupt or getting lost. Not to say the gentler, mildly funky tones of their earlier music aren’t special in their own way, but this 2025 release represents a satisfying late stage evolution for Tortoise’s music.