RACHEL'S

RACHEL'S
SELENOGRAPHY (1999)
320 KBPS

Flowing in an ether not unlike the one surrounding Tortoise, the Rachel's count 10 members in their band, none of whom plays a plainly rocklike instrument--but all of whom know the force of well-executed musical drama. Their songs are built on Rachel Grimes's piano and Jason Noble's guitars (and both of their miscellaneous instruments) and expand with the addition of trumpet, cello, viola, and percussion. Noble hails from Rodan (and another Kentucky-bred band, Slint, even shows an impress on these complex musical proceedings) and brings some indie-rock cred to this bunch, but aside from that, the Rachel's are a rather plainly drawn group of musicians going for a postrock and post-chamber-music vibe. They do a fine job, making music that sounds anxious in its small-nugget mullings. Edward Grimes's drums make a nice spinal column for the band, which at times seems washed out in minor keys and a calculated approach to not varying the group's formula or its hybrid after-classical mix too much. Like Pullman's Turnstyles and Junkpiles--which brought together reps from Tortoise, Rex, and Come--this recording both stays its unflappably midtempo, richly drawn course and sounds like an homage to a particularly somber musical mood, one the Rachel's portray very well.

1. A French Galleasse
2. On Demeter
3. The Last Light
4. Kentucky Nocturne
5. Honeysuckle Suite (Sugar Maple - Elm - Sweetgum)
6. Artemisia
7. Old Road 60
8. An Evening of Long Goodbyes
9. Cuts the Metal Cold
10. The Mysterious Disappearance of Louis LePrince
11. Forgiveness
12. Hearts and Drums