Pitchfork

Photo by Gabriel Wheeler

On their last two full-lengths, the San Francisco-based instrumental outfit Tussle have had a tendency to explore one idea per track. They'd draw inspiration from a Can bassline, say, or maybe an ESG drum roll, and then take that groove as far as they could, working in some inversions and variations, before moving on to the next cut. This early offering from the band's third album, the forthcoming Cream Cuts, finds them integrating several aspects of their sound into a single track. Right off the bat the production is less dry and clean, the reverb on the various instruments bleeds into each other and the initial feel leans more toward rock. Halfway through, though, after a short interlude, the song lights out for a new direction, a sharp, dirty sort of funk, the bubbling bass and tom rolls underpinning some light organ jamming. Given the song's title, you might hear all the above with an image of Robert Mitchum in your head (no, not that one, this one), which, given the vaguely menacing vibe, works.

MP3:> Tussle: "Night of the Hunter"
[from Cream Cuts; due 08/26/08 on Smalltown Supersound]