MAGNET Magazine| Record Review


TUATARA
Music For Courage & Confidence


There’s nothing particularly bad about Tuatara, but there’s nothing particularly exciting or challenging, either. On its third record, this instrumental collective—which features Peter Buck, Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees), Scott McCaughey (Minus 5), Justin Harwood (Luna) and others—continues to color outside the lines of standard rock with compositions flavored with noir jazz, Eastern flourishes and eclectic percussion. The results, however, are pretty bland. Cinemathique finds the supergroup grooving to a tad more mellow and slick vibe than before, which backfires sometimes as it veers scarily close to the drivel favored by elevators. The edgy jazz/rock found on 1997’s Breaking The Ethers has given way to ultra-smooth, easy-to-forget tunes such as "Tumbleweeds" and "Falling Pianos." While graced with exotic noisemakers like marimba, gamelan instruments, flugelhorn and bongos, much of Cinemathique isn’t very compelling or memorable. Thankfully, the cool blaze of sax player Skerik (Critters Buggin’) saves pieces like "Walking In A Dead Man’s Shoes" from totally slipping into Ignoreland. Perhaps this album is most suitable for movie scenes—like its title implies—where the characters chat in neo-bohemian coffee shops or trot through low-lit midnight streets as Tuatara plays incidentally in the background. [Fast Horse, www.fasthorserecordings.com]