Lotus: Escaping Sargasso Sea

By: Josh Potter

In the manner of the Disco Biscuits’ Trance Fusion Radio series, this two-disc set stresses the “live” in Lotus‘ livelectronica tag. More organic than their laptop-savvy peers, the percolating grooves feature riffs-a-plenty, an instrumental rock tapestry closer to say Tortoise than pure machine music. A product of patient democracy, subtle inner voices blossom from the self-restraint exhibited by each musician. However, with their limited toolbox and collective vision, the Philadelphia band (who curiously came together at a Mennonite college according their MySpace page) is encumbered in a way a single DJ never would be. The tracks rarely evince the depth of a laptop-wizard, the crescendo of Krautrockers or the peaked exaltation of the most inspired jammers.

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