Albums by this artist

Loftus (1998)

Loftus

Loftus

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» JONATHAN COHEN | SENIOR EDITOR

Loftus Loftus Perishable, 1998 RiYL: Directions In Music, Rex, Red Red Meat

Indie rock incest rages on with Loftus' self-titled debut, staffed and performed by members of slow-core trio Rex and Chicago's almost-rock Red Red Meat. The result is a mixed bag of genres, offering straight-ahead country ("Emma's Rubber Leg"), drunken sing-a-longs ("Stolen From A Rifle Clean Brothel") and bizarre instrumentals ("Raisin" and "King Carp In A Dan Ryan Ditch").

But out of nowhere arrive "Nervous" and "Penguin Boy's Love Story," an entrancing organic/electronic hybrid (think Tortoise) and a deliberate, achingly beautiful instrumental (more along the lines of Rex's recent work), respectively. Recommended: playing these two on "repeat" for hours.

On first listen, the album -- especially the songs with vocals -- is a real patience-tryer. To make matters worse, there are only 10 tracks on the CD, but 13 are listed on the album sleeve. Luckily, repeated plays are both warranted and rewarding. For a one-off project, Loftus is impressively diverse.

JONATHAN COHEN | Jonathan Cohen co-created Nude As The News with his Indiana University mates Troy Carpenter and Ben French. When not traversing the globe for business and pleasure, he holds down the fort as a senior editor for Billboard in New York. Stop him and he just may ask, "what for lunch?"