I was so hoping that Fontanelle was going to be an electronic tribute to Babes In Toyland, but as you can imagine (from glancing at the label) I am extremely disappointed. That is not to say that Kranky is a bad label, but it’s not exactly known for its sense of humor. Two Jessamine leftovers are responsible for this ‘experimental’ fusion of art wank and instrumental rock. The drums scuffle in jazzy rhythms while the rest of the band meanders aimlessly with a standard guitar/bass setup- no climaxes, no crescendos- just random scales and jumbled notes. Keyboards are prominent, of course, because what experimental instrumental lacks them these days?

This is the kind of music that naive college radio deejays obsess over, thinking it’s, oh, so innovative and avant garde when the plain fact is that this type of pretentious jam rock is as ubiquitous as a Nokia cell phone. I don’t know who would sit back and crank this up for pleasure, except for, maybe, a coffee house nerd eating hummus and wearing a black Banana Republic turtleneck. Once the blindly open-minded ideals of the college years wear off, though, these types of records sit in a dark corner of the used bin collecting dust while people listen to the real thing: Miles Davis.