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Some records are easy to recommend because they are famous. Millions Now Living Will Never Die is easy to recommend because it still sounds unlike almost anything else. The second album by Tortoise opens with a 21 minute piece that drifts from bass groove to mallets to dub to electronic static, and closes with songs that feel more like rooms than tunes. If you want one record that explains why instrumental rock got so interesting, start here.
Who makes it
Tortoise recorded the album for Thrill Jockey, the independent label that also released their self titled first LP. The lineup on this album is Douglas McCombs, John Herndon, Dan Bitney, John McEntire and Dave Pajo. The label notes that this is the first Tortoise studio recording to feature Pajo, who filled the spot left by Bundy K. Brown in late 1994.
Like the band's debut, the album was recorded and mixed by McEntire. Most of it was made at Idful Music Corporation in Chicago, with the rest finished at the then newly established SOMA Electronic Music Studios.
What the album is
Thrill Jockey describes the album as a logical extension of the band's self titled first LP, which set out an agenda of texture, space and mood. This time they pushed further. Most of the material was first conceived during a 10 day retreat in Northern Vermont, and the label points to washes of klangfarben, a German term meaning tone color, and rhythm running through the whole record.
The album also brought in new sounds: marimbas and other mallet percussion on Djed, conventional electric guitar on Glass Museum, and analog synthesis, sequencing and found sound on Dear Grandma and Grandpa. Structurally, the band stretched out. Djed is built in long sections, and Along the Banks of Rivers is a song without a narrative arc. A less hurried approach to recording let the group explore the material, and the final version of Djed went through about 15 stages of mixing and editing.
- Artist: Tortoise
- Label: Thrill Jockey, catalog number thrill 025
- Lineup: Douglas McCombs, John Herndon, Dan Bitney, John McEntire, Dave Pajo
- Recorded: mostly at Idful Music Corporation, Chicago, plus SOMA Electronic Music Studios
- Vinyl: deluxe spot gloss jacket with inner sleeve and a digital download
The tracklist runs:
- Djed
- Glass Museum
- A Survey
- The Taut and Tame
- Dear Grandma and Grandpa
- Along the Banks of Rivers
Why it is cool
Djed is the reason people still talk about this record. It opens the record and never sits still. A loping bass and drum groove gives way to chiming mallets, then to sections that sound as if the tape itself is being cut and spliced. Knowing it went through around 15 stages of mixing and editing makes sense when you hear how many ideas are folded into it. It feels composed and accidental at the same time.
The second side is shorter but just as rewarding. Glass Museum has a clean guitar line that floats over gentle rhythms, A Survey and The Taut and Tame are brief, moody sketches, and Dear Grandma and Grandpa leans into synthesizers and found sound. Along the Banks of Rivers closes things slowly, with a twangy, spacious feel that suits late nights.
It is also a great vinyl listen. The record rewards being played start to finish, which is exactly how the format works best. The bass, the mallets and the careful mixing come through well on a decent turntable and speakers.
Who should buy it
Buy it if you like instrumental music with groove, if you enjoy jazz, dub, krautrock or electronic music and want something that blends them, or if you are building a collection of essential independent records. It is also a smart gift for anyone who loves headphone albums.
Skip it if you only want songs with vocals and choruses. There are no hooks to sing along to. This is music for listening closely, or for letting it fill a room.
LP at Thrill Jockey
Tortoise, Millions Now Living Will Never Die
Tortoise, Millions Now Living Will Never Die on vinyl
Keep exploring with our post rock starter guide, our krautrock starter guide and our Kranky Records guide, and make sure your setup is ready with our best turntables for beginners. Find more records in our vinyl and reissues hub.
