When you hear the word “supergroup” you probably think of aging rock stars, flabby, ego-bloated performances, and exorbitant ticket prices. If so, you should probably check out Tortoise, a kind of indie-rock supergroup whose intriguing music incorporates subtlety, understatement, and unassuming sophistication. Dan Bitney, John Herndon, John McEntire, Doug McCombs, Bundy K. Brown, and Brad Wood–whose resumes include stints with Eleventh Dream Day, Shrimp Boat, Bastro, Tar Babies, Poster Children, Gastr del Sol, and Precious Wax Drippings–rely on tightly woven ensemble playing rather than spotlighted solo flights; their eponymous debut LP on Thrill Jockey is made up of ten rather quiet instrumentals whose beauty emerges slowly and gradually. Stylistically the band stakes out some wide turf: “Onions Wrapped in Rubber” is a soft dub that throws in a little Lee “Scratch” Perry and a little Can; “Flyrod” is a bit of free-form introspective guitar tangle; and “Ry Cooder” features an extended, jazzy vibraphone workout. But Tortoise is most effective on tunes like “Tin Cans & Twine” and “Spiderwebbed,” where a swelling counterpoint of melodic bass grooves is languidly fleshed out with percussion, guitar fills, and sprinkles of organ to create warm, low-key excursions somewhere between rock, funk, and jazz. Though the indie-rock world can be just as self-indulgent as its mainstream counterpart, Tortoise’s thoughtful, self-effacing music is one of the things that makes it worth exploring. Saturday, 10 PM, Lounge Ax, 2438 N. Lincoln; 525-6620.
