It becomes fitting, upon listening to Pelican's music, that the band hails from Chicago. When Tortoise and their contemporaries ushered in a new wave of instrumental music over a decade ago from the Windy City, it was a pastiche of genre-defying sound, simultaneously cohesive and expansive in influence. Similarly, Pelican's songs touch on so much from the canon of rock music. Yet they have refined their own sound over the course of their career. In 2009, Pelican has shifted gears once again. This year sees them on a new label, Southern Lord, and headed musically to regions as yet unexplored. As always, experimentation and discovery never see them straying too far from their roots.

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