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Motion Turns It On – Rima

Do you like Tortoise? Motion Turns It On sure do, and like Samuel Jackson 5, they’re plying a similarly solid take on the Chicagoan’s smoothrockin’ “is-it-jazz?” style. This sort of sound was all the rage for about three years before a few bands that need no mention showed up and then every band without a lyricist started tripping over each other to out-epic/precious each other. For that reason alone, Rima is a pretty refreshing listen circa 2007, but it’s more than a merely passable imitation of its influences.

Motion Turns It On aren’t as prone to electronic experimentation as Tortoise was, nor are they quite as satisfying and unique, but I don’t know—something about this is totally hitting my sweet spot. Maybe it’s because it sounds detached without ever being dispassionate, maybe it’s because they breathe new life into old forms (something 99% of bands seem to fail at), maybe it’s because they’re packing the kick-ass musicianship—loaded with dexterous leads, smart call-and-response playing (check those keyboards in “Alphanumerica”), and some sweet in-the-pocket drumming from Steve Smith—that used to be a requisite in this genre, or maybe it’s how they manage all of this muscular showmanship without ever showing off or forgetting to write songs, but Motion Turns It On have the indefinable “it” of a band hitting its stride. Rima hijacked my opinion from “meh” to “whoah” in only two listens and it’s been uphill ever since.

Back up a minute—dexterous leads, I say? That’s right, scarcely a week after un-famously soliciting the board for help in locating post-rockers who trade their reverb and circular three-note riffs with some searing solos, I find myself reviewing a band that knows exactly where, when, and how to shred, straddling the fine line between taste and technical ability. Ever wanted to hear John McEntire backing up John McLaughlin? Don’t hold your breath, but here’s the closest you’ll get, and it’s just as gnarly as you might hope. Most of the songs have some sweet and soulful fretboard fireworks that at the very least compliments the main action of the track, but on sublime jams like the title track and “Spytekite,” William Kenny’s ferocious, urgent lead playing elevates the songs to a classy, proficient plateau whereon the band gaze down with contempt on all the lesser instrumentalists cluttering up the playing field. His solos achieve exactly what solos should (yet so often fail to)—they take the songs to a place they couldn’t have reached otherwise.

I suppose it’s a little ironic that 30 years after punk rock, that same DIY ethic is being peddled by bands like Motion Turns It On that have all the chops of the prog bands the punks used to castigate, but whatever, I’m over it.Rima is a textbook example of how a little extra talent can go a long way towards fostering creativity and a sense of individuality. It’s not exactly an original sound, yet I’m hard pressed to name anybody else that sounds “like” this. Although the band is calling this an “EP,” don’t be fooled—38 minutes of acrobatic, graceful avantstrumentals that achieve everything Maserati have been aiming for is a full-length by any other name. The gauntlet has been thrown down to jazzy post-rockers everywhere, and there are very, very few bands right now with the ability to pick it up.

— Lucas Kane, thesilentballet.com