Human Bell – Human Bell

Rarely does Human Bell exert its instrumental muscle immediately. Constructed with snaking guitar duos, a bowed banjo, drums, an amplified kalimba and other singing equipment, Dave Heumann and Nathan Bell build an album would sit well on a desert drive, lulling you with tender dreamlike melodies, only to erupt into powerful visions then fade away. Coming out on the Thrill Jockey label, the home to other post-jazz, instrumental rock outfits like Tortoise and the Chicago Underground Duo, the basis for enjoyment is whether you willing to let your mind wander, and appreciate the free-form spontaneity that somehow synthesizes when you pull back from the canvas. Etched with blues chords and Middle Eastern melodies, you could get lost within the steady plodding, where most track refuse to let up until after six-plus minutes.