MILLIONS NOW LIVING WILL NEVER DIE

"Millions Now Living Will Never Die" is the second full-length studio album by US post-rock act Tortoise. The album was released through Thrill Jockey in January 1996. It´s the successor to the eponymously titled debut album from June 1994.

The music on the album is atmospheric, slow building, and often features repetitive grooves (not unlike 70s krautrock groups like Neu!, Can, and early Kraftwerk). Drums, bass, marimba/vibraphones, organ, and occasionally guitars are elements of the soundscape, as well as various types of electronic effects. The album opens with the 20 minutes long "Djed". This particular track is in full krautrock mode. Although 20 minutes long it´s not that the composition features many different sections (about five or six different ones during the playing time) but it never gets too repetitive and most of the sections are either powerful, intriguing, or atmopsheric in nature and as a listener you are entertained all the way through the long instrumental track. I especially enjoy the what I hear as the third section of the song where the drums shift in rhythm and the bass comes in after a lenghty break. Very powerful section with a great dark mood. The marimba on "Glass Museum and Along the Banks of Rivers" provides the music with a lounge jazzy touch that´s soothing to the ears and in the case of the latter I´m reminded of some of Angelo Badalamenti´s work on David Lynch movie soundtracks. "A Survey" and "Dear Grandma and Grandpa" are shorter tracks and a bit more ambient in nature. A highlight here is "The Taut and Tame", which is a great rhythmic track.

Tortoise are a well playing unit and it´s obvious that these guys have a musical vision beyond just playing rock standards, and that they pursue that vision with all they´ve got. "Millions Now Living Will Never Die" features a powerful, organic, and well sounding production job, which suits the material perfectly. Some of the standout features of the sound are the dominant bass and the dry snare drum sound. To my ears "Millions Now Living Will Never Die" is a step forward from the debut album and it´s a high quality sophomore studio album by Tortoise. Like most other releases by the band there are times when the music becomes a little repetitive and ends up being pleasant background muzak, but I´d say "Millions Now Living Will Never Die" is one of the band´s most interesting releases where that feeling occurs very rarely. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.