With all this talk of taxons and ancestorship, you could begin to wonder whether Tortoise have half an eye on their place in the firmament of greats. But which place? Each album inevitably hints at such an array of influences, from jazz to rock to classical to electro to soundtracks to dub to genres-that-probably-exist-only-in-their-head-that-is-how-fucking-clever-they-are. Each album sounds almost completely unlike the preceding release. Yet each album always somehow sounds like a Tortoise album.

Beacons of Ancestorship, is true to form, an uneven thing. Frustratingly so at times. There are tracks on here which could slip almost unnoticed onto those previous albums (mostly they shelter for safety in a tight bunch on the second half). However, some of the cuts from the flanks sound like little else, and as such rank with prime Tortoise. The opening “High Class Slim Came Floating In”, is a multi-sectioned 8 minutes of buzzing guitar, throbbing synth fuzz, and crisp drumming which builds to a pounding dub-motorik-in-space finale. Of all the tricks these devils have pulled, this is one of the best. The closing “Charteroak Foundation” sounds like two entirely different records playing at once. Fortunately, they are both good ones, with the rhythms of the synth and drums clashing deliciously with Jeff Parker’s chugging guitar arpeggios. In between, they hint at Ennio Morricone and Anton Karas on the zither-led intro to “Gigantes”, before following their own idiosyncratic logic to construct a superb scaffold of impeccable jazz drumming and disco handclaps all around.

Such moments of genius elevate this far above their more recent output, making this comfortably the best Tortoise album since TNT. Their place in history assured, on Beacons of Ancestorship Tortoise continue to push on into the future. It is available now from Thrill Jockey.