Human Bell – Human Bell

This entry was posted by owl and bear staff on Tuesday, January 15th, 2008 at 10:00 pm.

2008, Thrill Jockey

Baltimore’s Dave Heumann and Nathan Bell make up the aptly named Human Bell. In the vein of instrumental outfits like Tortoise, Human Bell’s self-titled release has a lot to offer.

Heumann has worked with Bonnie “Prince” Billy, and Bell is most known for playing bass in Lungfish. Human Bell is very reminiscent of Tortoise, Mogawi, and other post-rock groups, and the album was in fact mixed by Mr. John “Tortoise” McEntire. Several other musicians make guest appearances to fill in the gaps in Heumann and Bell’s duets, and Euphone’s Ryan Rapsys even makes an appearance on drums.

All-told, the album is relaxing and largely pleasing to the ears. It is a Chicago deep dish-style instrumental, though, and listeners might yearn instead for work not merely produced–but also written–by John McEntire.

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