TRS-80

Chicago’s TRS-80 combine analog instruments and digital recordings in a beautiful collision of sound. Their fourth LP opens with "Cliff Evans,” a rolling break beat-based trip of Shadow proportions, heightened by strange sounds like extraterrestrial sirens. TRS-80 are just as comfortable on the deliciously drunken shuffle of "Don’t Mess with Illinois” as they are on the body-moving "Translocated.” The trio’s sense of humour is evident on the ’80s metal riffage of "Motoki” and a skit entitled "To Explain Grades of Beef,” featuring a bubbly narrator who exclaims "I love to read!” Although Shake Hands with Danger is somewhat patchy for continuous listening, by the time the UNKLE-esque closer "Math Basket” comes around, it’s all been worth the wait.