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Immediately following the release of their acclaimed 2004 album, We Move Through Weather, Tarentel built on their forward momentum by recording another several hours worth of material, its fate to be determined at a later date. Tarentel don't follow up their albums so much as follow through them. To that end, Ghetto Beats On The Surface Of The Sun is more of an exploded view of the world the band has built and un-built for over a decade, each track acting as a map to an increasingly cosmic landscape.Originally released as a limited edition series of vinyl albums, Ghetto Beats is collected here onto two CDs ? a full two and a half hours of music. It is a sun-baked cluster of ragged rhythms, splintered sound and scorched shimmer. The production is a caustic mix of hi- and lo-fi, creating a strange sense of timelessness, like discovering a black and white photograph of the future.Available in a numbered, limited edition quadruple gatefold jacket, Ghetto Beats On The Surface Of The Sun is a widescreen projection of unspeakable charm and unlikely beauty.

Though hardly a pop record, We Move Through Weather is Tarentel?s mostfocused album since their 1999 debut, From Bone To Satellite. However, thesimilarities stop there. Now stripped to a trio (Sonna?s Jim Reddcompletes the line-up on drums), the sound is almost entirely intuitive.Virtually every song is built from expansive improvisations of sweepingdrones and walls of discordant feedback. Where taught, meticulous guitarmelodies once drove their songs to conclusion, thunderous drumming nownavigates the group through an uncertain abyss of layered noise, hornbursts (courtesy of musician Steve Dye's arsenal of homemade instruments)and the occasional lonely piano. Perhaps for the first time since theirinception, the studio Tarentel and the live Tarentel are one and the same.With nearly all obvious reference points now removed, their music hasbecome incredibly difficult to describe, and we like it that way.

If last year's breakthrough album We Move Through Weather was Tarentel's high water mark, then these two companion EPs could be interpreted as the rise and fall of that flood. The same recording sessions are responsible for all three releases: Paper White represents the beginning, We Move Through Weather is the inspired centerpiece, and the 43-minute Big Black Square signals the smoky ending. Played in succession, the three releases chart Tarentel's journey from dynamic, guitar-driven instrumentalists to perpetually curious treasure hunters of the mysterious sounds that most of us take for granted. If this were the end of Tarentel's story, they would have enough riches to last a lifetime. Eight years into their career, however, it seems they've only just begun.

If last year's breakthrough album We Move Through Weather was Tarentel's high water mark, then these two companion EPs could be interpreted as the rise and fall of that flood. The same recording sessions are responsible for all three releases: Paper White represents the beginning, We Move Through Weather is the inspired centerpiece, and the 43-minute Big Black Square signals the smoky ending. Played in succession, the three releases chart Tarentel's journey from dynamic, guitar-driven instrumentalists to perpetually curious treasure hunters of the mysterious sounds that most of us take for granted. If this were the end of Tarentel's story, they would have enough riches to last a lifetime. Eight years into their career, however, it seems they've only just begun.

The infamous debut EP from San Francisco's Tarentel pulls you into their world of ambient-influenced dreamscapes. Melodic guitars chime through polyrhythmic beats and swells. By far their "dancier" record. Frequently requested at house parties.

With every new release Tarentel have offered spellbinding proof that they aren't just musicians, they are also magicians. This collection most perfectly depicts the course of the band's four year history. Beginning with the slowly unfolding crescendos of "The Waltz" and "Looking For Things," and ending with the spacious tonal drifts of "Two Sides of Myself" and "Searching For Things." Not since their stunning debut album From Bone To Satellite has there been a Tarentel release that more accurately compliments their dynamic shifts and subtle nuances. Even as a collection of singles, it plays like a flawless album. Like magic.

Visceral debut full-length combining classic elements of minimalist composers such as Eno and Cage with the cinematic brilliance of Morricone. Toss in a touch of "Bad Moon Rising" you've got yourself what could be Album of the Year. The vinyl includes two extra tracks not available on the CD.