I love this modern profusion of loop pedals. It's opened up a lot of sonic possibilities, and it allows one or two guys pull pull of thick arrangements that would be impossible live. The loop pedal has become an instrument in it's own right, and a handful of acts these days revolve around it, even depend on it. More emotional than Ratatat and partying harder than Dosh, fitting somewhere less neon than the former and less wooden than the latter (who joins their current tour for most of this month), L.A.'s El Ten Eleven are not the first band of their kind, but they are bringing their own thing to the table. ETE kicked off their tour at the Mohawk in Austin last night to a full house crammed into the indoor venue, sweating it's collective ass off and fending off heat stroke with nothing but cheap tallboys and hope. Their enthusiasm was rewarded by a wash of guitar driven dance-rock, a duo sounding like a dozen.
El Ten Eleven's latest spinning plastic disc, It's Still Like a Secret, could be a dance record, but it's not unrelentingly blissful. It could be a power rock record if you're in the mood. If it spun slower it would be a fine rainy day record. It's dance music with depth, or it's post-rock with a sense of humor, but it defies easy labels and that's just another thing that's great about it. Because It's Still Like a Secret is almost a lot of different things, it's any of them when you want it to be. Guitarist Kristian Dunn and drummer Tim Fogarty have crafted a multifaceted style that suggests itself for many moods, and reaches in enough directions to be interesting without losing cohesion.
El Ten Eleven continues their U.S. tour until the end of October, supported by Anticon joysmith Baths. It's Still Like a Secret sees it's official release November 9th.
