What most practitioners of moody instrumental rock forget is that pop music of a "progressive" nature has to sound good while tripping on mushrooms inside a planetarium. Laser shows, friends-- that's what textural sounds without voices were made for. Too much of the music made by the post- rock heavies seems like a mere academic exercise; rare equations mapped out on paper but never allowed to drift wild in the true vacuum of space. And then there's Cul De Sac.

When I listen to Crashes to Light, Minutes to Its Fall I can see the projected stars and hear a booming narrator's voice directing me to the Andromoda galaxy; I can taste the dry- cap belches and catch the glowing exit signs moving in circles, leaving crimson trails behind. It's a wonderful thing to find a band like Cul De Sac, who see music as a journey or, if you like, as a trip. One to sign up for.

So, what's there secret? What makes Crashes stand out among the boring noodlers that have sprung from the indie rock woodwork? It's the fact that the sounds they make conjure such clear pictures-- the sound of the cinema. The contemporary reference points are easy (Tortoise, Labradford, etc.) but Cul De Sac manage to give nearly every piece a special little twist. "Etaion Shrdlu" begins with a very Eastern, sitar- like guitar sound that builds into a rumbling steamroller of a groove, "K" twirls hypnotic and beautiful guitar lines around each other like a psychedelic pottery wheel, and "Hagstrom" packs the rhythmic punch of early '70s Can. These songs average in the eight- minute range, and it's time well spent.

Of course, it wouldn't be an instrumental rock album without a couple of flat- out snoozers, and the record has exactly two-- not exactly a bad ratio in this genre. The songs incorporate guitar, bass, drums, synthesizers, autoharps, samplers, U.S. Navy practice bombs, human ribs... the list goes on, and damn if you can't hear every last detail. This is music that grows on you, a keeper. People, laserarium curators of tomorrow will find that "Cul De Sac Night" will work just fine in between the early Floyd and Yes programs. I'm there.

-Mark Richard-San