(Mush Records/Stomp)

Post-rocktronica from Arizona duo

Arizona’s Lymbyc Systym, aka brothers Mike and Jared Bell, specialise in the kind of spacious instrumental music that mixes electronica with live instrumentation, digital with analogue, intimacy with grandiosity.  It occasionally brings to mind Tortoise, but maybe it’s their Arizona background, because the music on Love Your Abuser is warmer and more organic than many of the more academic practitioners of post-rock and electronica.  Despite that rather sinister title, much of the album is both inviting and supremely melodic: Pittsburgh Left is a perfect example of them blending accessibility with avant-garde techniques, as a chiming, serpentine keyboard melody plays over all manner of drones, found sounds and rhythmic pitter-patter.  The record as a whole skilfully blends laptops, vintage keyboards and Mike’s touchingly garage-grounded drums.  The result is an album that is ultimately unclassifiable and all the stronger for it.

***½

MATT THROWER

Comments (2)

1. Written by Leslie, on 12-02-2007 09:42 Can't wait to see them with The Hero Cycle in Albany!!!!  It's gonna be soooooo sweet and cool.     is it all ages?

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