WHY WE FIGHT

This is a 7" single that was released the year following their debut album. As far as I know, the only album that these two songs appeared on was the collection of rare tracks by Tortoise called "A Lazarus Taxon". It is not easy to find, but you might spot a used copy somewhere out there.

The A Side is "Why We Fight". It is a pretty standard rhythm with a lot of percussive instruments. Bass joins in later and pretty much carries the melody with a guitar. It is quite similar to the debut album, with a no nonsense melody, but the percussion is quite active all the way through it.

The B Side is called "Whitewater". This one is quite experimental, and actually sounds like a backwards song. I wish I had more information on it, but I am pretty sure it's not the backwards version of the A side, because the tone sounds quite different, and the backwards percussion isn't as chaotic as the A side. There is a (mostly) 2-tone alternating drone that follows along.

This is definitely only for completionists. You would be better off getting "A Lazarus Taxon" than trying to track this down. It's not that interesting, but if you are curious enough, get the rare collection instead.