Three decades after they first stretched the term post-rock into something supple, strange and Chicagoan, Tortoise return with ‘Touch’, their first album in nearly a decade and, perhaps, their least cohesive. Once the blueprint for instrumental experimentation, the group’s spidery interplay has here become something more distant and deliberate, a collaboration assembled across time zones rather than assembled face-to-face.
The happy feet of opener Vexations immediately underlines this tension — both driving and shuffling, it’s clever, even exhilarating in flashes, but it feels like five different songs sutured together.
By contrast, Layered Presence revives a sense of old-school wonder — all harpsichord synths, vibraphone pings and motorik patience.
Axial Seamoun locks into a kraut-jazz pulse that’s hypnotic, if not entirely new. When everything aligns, the chemistry still flickers: those polyrhythmic drums and elliptical basslines remain recognisably, comfortingly Tortoise.
But the greyness of the record’s production often dulls that alchemy. Gone is the warm dub space of ‘TNT’ or the cinematic shimmer of ‘Standards’ — what remains is an album that feels engineered rather than breathed into being. You can hear the geography — Chicago, Portland, L.A. — in the distance between its ideas. Even its highlights, like the fractal funk of Rated OG, sound as though they were Dropboxed into existence, rather than played by mates who share a stage and a beer fridge.
Still, there’s pleasure in the attempt. Tortoise have earned the right to be restless, and the unevenness of ‘Touch’ is at least evidence of life. It’s an intriguing, occasionally brilliant reminder that even slow-moving creatures can still bite, though if this record’s anything to go by, maybe someone should tell these tortoises to come out of their shells a little more often.
Tortoise Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Sat November 22 2025 - LONDON Barbican Hall
Sun November 23 2025 - BRISTOL Crane
Mon November 24 2025 - LEEDS Leeds Irish Centre
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