What is post-rock? A definition would probably help before we get started. In the 1990s, a musical movement began to surface that centered on the use of traditional rock instrumentation in music that was emphatically nontraditional. The movement centered on bands like Cul de Sac or Tortoise,” and would later expand to include groups like Sigur Ros. But the defining feature of the music was essentially the same: the use of shimmering, drawn-out rock instruments (especially guitar, bass and drums) in music that achieved a much more atmospheric feel than what the radio had to offer.
El Ten Eleven fits squarely into this tradition. The Los Angeles-based duo has been making post-rock music for the last decade or so. Kristian Dunn handles bass while Tim Fogarty plays both acoustic and electronic drums, but their music is hardly limited by their size. Using extensive looping, El Ten Eleven is able to create a sound far fuller than its minimal membership suggests.
Taking their name from the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar passenger aircraft, El Ten Eleven formed in Los Angeles in 2002. The duo waited a couple of years before releasing its self-titled debut album in 2005. While not quite critically lauded, that album secured El Ten Eleven’s position in a lineage of bands making soft-focus, emotionally resonant instrumental rock music at the turn of the millennium. The album also caught the attention of venerable New Jersey indie label Bar/None Records, once home to indie titans like Yo La Tengo and Tindersticks. The band released its next album (and all albums since) on the label.
As the band moved through the tumultuous post-millennial indie scene, its music began to expand in scope, encompassing more complex math-rock influences as well as the kind of delicate electronic textures adored by recent post-rock bands. Through all this, the band has retained a breezy melodicism that has made it a favorite on college campuses and among more casual listeners.
However, El Ten Eleven’s recorded music is not enough to describe the band’s work. The duo’s artistry is especially evident in live shows. Despite the importance of looping and separate tracks in their music, the band generally doesn’t use laptops during shows, relying instead on foot pedals and other effects. This onstage freedom allows them to be much more energetic than those bands tied to a computer. They also improvise heavily throughout their shows, making each concert unique and keeping their material fresh.
It seems cliche to say that this is a band you need to see live, but it’s true: El Ten Eleven is a solid studio band. Nothing more. But onstage, they’re something more — something transcendent.
