I've often wondered what would happen if Stereolab, rather than relaxing into one of their patented nine-minute drone-a-thons at every opportunity, allowed themselves to be governed by a restrictive time signature. A math-rocking Stereolab, you might say.
Test Tone Channel bear no more than a slight resemblance to Stereolab, but it's a good starting point. Credit the resemblance to Chastity Alward, whose sweet, slightly accented vocals and analog keyboard stylings give Running For Words much of its pop lightness. Alward seems to be taking her cues from prog-rock -- even on the album's poppiest tunes, her melodic foundation seems to stretch toward the sky, as if yearning for freedom.
Ultimately, there's little freedom to be had, as the rest of the band stand prepared to impose precise, almost martial rhythms at a moment's notice. Most pop songs aren't built to handle abrupt time changes, and will deal with the switch from a sprawling, loose tempo to a tight and unforgiving timing like a car downshifting from fifth gear to first -- first there's a lot of noise, and then everything falls apart. Test Tone Channel handle these transitions skillfully, and their songs don't collapse.
Compositional elements work well, too. A winsome combination of piano and keyboard softens the aggressive tempo of "Mirage", while "You Belong Here" uses its guitar interplay to radiate warmth and urgency, intermittently subverted by a classic rockish vocal. "Taj Mahal" begins with a falsetto vocal and low drone, then layers rock rhythms and keyboard surprises onto a series of cathartic emotional peaks. The sonic interplay is, at times, quite exquisite.
When broken down into its component parts, Test Tone Channel's sound doesn't seem unique at all. Running For Words finds its intrigue not in the creation of entirely new and striking noise, but in the unexpected juxtaposition of familiar elements and stylistic approaches. If you've grown tired of keyboard drone, split-second tempo switches or loose-limbed prog melodies in the hands of the artists who most frequently employ them, you may be surprised at how intriguingly fresh they sound in Test Tone Channel's context. Or -- and this is ultimately more important -- you may simply like the songs.
