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| Jerseybeat | | TUNGSTEN 74 - Aleatory Element (Technical Echo, 172 5th Ave. #51, Brooklyn NY 11217) Tungsten 74 obviously doesn’t believe in the concept of too much of a good thing. This is a double-CD of the trio’s instrumental space-rock, over 100 minutes of “music” with nothing but a few sound bytes (from what sounds like Nature Channel documentaries) and someone intoning “1, 2, 3, 4” over and over on one track in the way of vocals. What makes this work is the band’s excellent musicianship, a fearless refusal to be constricted by genre boundaries, and an unexpected but very welcome sense of humor (even more evident in the band’s amazing live performances.) Tungsten 74 (which doesn’t list member’s names anywhere on its CD or website) segues effortlessly from ambient, Eno-like space jams to raucous metal riffs; the guitar meanders from psychedelic krautrock excursions to chunky riffs, and the drums are simply amazing, fluid and driving, the real secret weapon here. Bass creeps in occasionally, as do sounds like theremin, banjo, handclaps, and God knows what else… and the keyboard sounds range from sci-fi synthesizers to good ol’ analog tinkling piano. I imagine this would be even more mind-blowing accompanied by the right recreational drugs, a couple of lava lamps, and a good pair of earphones; but even stone-cold sober in the bright light of day, this is a trip worth taking. – Jim Testa | | |
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| Go Metric! | | ...In setting their controls for the far reaches of the galaxy, they do it pretty well. Aleatory Element makes for great daydreaming music | | |
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| Aural Innovations - "Aleatory Element" |
.....there's a lot more going on here than just the interstellar drive and whoosh of guitars and synthesizers. In fact, a whole range of influences can be cited to mark out the sonic territory of Aleatory Element: Captain Beefheart weirdness, early 70s krautrock experimentation ala Neu and Faust, the NYC guitar terrorism of Glen Branca, 60s psychedelia. The overall impression is a harder-edged, perhaps punky Pink Floyd. Imagine, for instance, the Floyd spacecraft driven by the guitar of Thurston Moore and you've got a pretty good idea of the niche Tungsten 74 fills. The instrumentation on Aleatory Element is as varied as the music itself: in addition to the traditional setup (guitar, bass, drums, keys), banjo, theremin, accordion, recorder, and tribal percussion are employed on many of the songs, though no specific credits are given. | | |
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| AP Alternative Press |  | | |
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| Sports Illustrated.com - Nascar column | Personally, I found it very catchy in a transfixing way. For some reason it all sort of reminds me of that Rolling Stones song 2000 Man, with some Radiohead and Pink Floyd tossed in. Very mellow, probably great sleeping music. Give it a listen.
Mark Bechtel | | |
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