Toe 2000

As easy as it is to validate Toe 2000's aesthetic existence with critic speak like "avant-garde," so too can it be said their self-titled debut simply smokes, its blissed-out jazz / blues / experimental atmospherics providing a grandiose headphone experience. Hardly surprising considering the local talent on board - percussion genius David Pavkovic, Tortoise's Doug McCombs and Jeff Parker - but the absolute mastery these guys have over the tone of their instruments is so shape shifting and ever-present that each of the players seem in competition with each other for sonic control. Ultimately, though, this is Parker's show, and his virtually liquid guitar destroys and rebuilds all traces of conventional playing styles with an infinite array of spacey drones, jazz licks, and electronic passages. -Illinois Entertainer

　　A Chicago avant rock summit, Toe 2000's supple sound absorbs slick jazz guitar, bursts of distortion, flowing rhythms, and severe jumpcuts. Adding to this are the versatile vocals of Yoko Noge, crooning and murmuring in a beguiling mixture of English and Japanese. The way Toe 2000's music has been first improvised then re-edited might be classed as cheating by purists, but for the rest of us it makes for a listening experience that sounds both freeflowing and spontaneous. -Wire

　　Toe 2000's music has grown from the love of finely tuned musical compositions that transport the listener to another plane. More concerned with instrumentation than vocals, they reject the traditional verse and chorus structure and instead opt for a more orchestrated sound. -Impact

　　Copyright 2002 Truckstop Records.