El Ten Eleven – Every Direction Is North

El Ten Eleven are an instrumental band that was apparently too lazy to find a second guitarist. Instead, the band opts to center their songs around live guitar and bass loops that are layered in real time to create the driving force behind their songs. Part indie rock, part dance, part post rock, and part ambience, El Ten Eleven throw in a little of everything on their newest album. While the live loop construction would probably be amazing to see in a live setting, the songs on Every Direction is North tend to become a tad repetitive around halfway into the album. Things are spiced up from time to time with truly awesome guitar effects, but the tracks tend to lack identity. Fans of the band may also note some recycled riffs from their first self titled album, such as the clean guitar line towards the end of the new album’s title track. The band has certainly grown since then however. The addition of electronic drum beats and some keyboards are a welcome change from the standard guitar/bass/drum format.