Thursday, December 31, 2009

The Instruments

Browsing about in the collection of music I saw this band and decided that it was far too long overdue to post their discography. This group is interconnected intimately with the Elephant 6 collective. A regular reader might see a pattern and realize I am a big fan of E6. Cellist Heather McIntosh, who played with Elf Power, Circulatory System, and Japancakes, founded the Instruments. The rest of the roster is mostly made up of E6 founders and veterans like Peter Erchick, Will Cullen Hart, John Fernandes, Hannah Jones, and Derek Almstead. If their names aren't ringing a bell a simple wikipedia search will tell you the projects they've been involved in. However, beyond possessing the necessary talent, the style of the band is a bit different from the pop sound of many E6 groups. The Instruments falls into the much smaller faction that embraces Eastern European folk traditions with A Hawk And A Hacksaw. This influence is more pronounced in the first album, Billions of Phonographs, newer release. This is not to say it evaporated in the succeeding albums, but they focus more of lyrics. All three of the releases memorized me in turn, so I can't tell you which is better than the other, and perhaps starting at the beginning is best. If you were a fan of previous E6 projects I posted or if you like European folk infused acts like Beirut, A Hawk And A Hacksaw, and Black Ox Orkestar then you shall likely appreciate this.

Have a wonderful new year spacerockmountain pilgrims.

To be had here:




Billions of Phonographs [128 kbps] (2002)












Cast A Half Shadow [192 kbps] (2006)










Dark Småland [192 VBR kbps] (2008)

4 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing this albums i was looking for them, Thanks again

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  2. These are a great discovery for me. Don't love every tune, but many of them. They have a great and unique sound. Many thanks.

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  3. heeeeeey, would you reupload these?? can't find them anywhere!! pretty please?

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  4. sorry, i just read your note on dead links. the blog's great man! keep it up

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