Tuesday, May 16, 2006

a car full of japanese gangsters.

I've danced around the inevitable for long enough. Today's Tuesday Spotlight is on one of my (if not absolute) favorite instrumental bands. Bands members came from the ashes of, or went on to play with, or reunited in such bands as Alligator Gun, Loomis, Tussin, Telecognac, Raccoons, Hatmelter New Rising Sons, Paris Texas, The Promise Ring, The Portable Quartet, and Collections of Colonies of Bees. Jon Mueller is one of the most inspired drummers of our time, from his minimalist solo work to his bombastic rhythms with today's Spotlight. Chris Rosenau's guitar-work is entrancing, enlightening, energetic, and a constant struggle to wrap your mind around, and Matt Tennessen's rolling, toppling bass rounds out the songs. The later addition of Jon Minor's electronic/laptop sounds topped off the sound perfectly. This is Pele.
It's been over eight years since the first Pele record, 1998's Teaching the History of Teaching Geography, and over four years since the last, 2002's Enemies. Elephant is considered their best work and bridges the gap between early and late Pele. While it was originally run as a limited release in 1999, Polyvinyl resurrected the album in 2003 before the band called it quits in 2004. While albums were released by Star Star Stereo Recordings and Polyvinyl Record Co., the label that is tied more closely with Pele is Crouton, founded by drummer Jon Mueller. Crouton has released about thirty editions and most are both extraordinarily uniquely packaged and extremely limited in quantity. The first Crouton release was Pele's Emergency Room Egg, remixes of the first album on CDR. Only two hundred were pressed. Jon Mueller and other members of Pele have been a part of a bulk of Crouton's releases, not to mention three Collection of Colonies of Bees releases. As evident, however, with the catalog of both Pele and CoCoB, these guys have done some of their best work together.
It's a treat to listen to the progression of this band, with each album and throughout time. With blips and bleeps present at the beginning and the end of Pele's five year tenure, use of acoustic guitars with Enemies (which was recorded entirely in a women's locker room), and Jon Mueller's refusal to relax for very long.
It's somewhat of an oddity for an instrumental band very gifted with time signature changes (see: Math Rock), tapping, and electronics to sound so accessible - playful, even. In fact, one of the only difficult things about Pele is not feeling light-hearted and energized after an album ends. Always a worthwhile soundtrack to whatever you're doing.
Don't tell, but I'm even including "Realize It" from the limited two track LP/CD of the same name. It's over eleven minutes long and represents Pele's effort to put to tape interpretations of their three-hour live sets. You can buy four of these releases from Polyvinyl and the rest on rare occasion on eBay. Why? Well, would you want to get rid of music this vital to your collection?



Pele's "A Car Full of Japanese Gangsters"
from Teaching the History of Teaching Geography

Pele's "Realize It"
from Realize It

Pele's "'Goal!'"
from People Living With Animals. Animals Kill People.

Pele's "Black Socks"
from The Nudes

Pele's "Hummingbirds Eat"
from Enemies

Pele's "Pickled Pear"
from Elephant

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