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El Ten Eleven

By: Kerry Miller

Between grunge and lo-fi, Kristian Dunn spend most of the ’90s pretending to be bad at his instrument in order to get work. The post-Radiohead era wasn’t much better. Instead, he was surrounded by good musicians who used experimental music as an excuse to show off their skills without actually saying anything. In drummer Tim Fogarty, Dunn found a fellow traveler who wasn’t interested in selling sloppy musicianship as raw emotion or in passing off exercises in technical trickery as deep thought. As they allude to on a song titled “Sorry About Your Irony,” the resulting project, El Ten Eleven, is a band that’s not afraid of being sincere.

A sort of Silverlake-style Sigur Ros, the L.A. duo makes experimental instrumental music that’s both highly skilled and deeply felt. Their subject matter is personal; the melancholy basslines of songs like “Connie” and “Lorge” were inspired by Kristian Dunn’s mother, who died a few years ago. With drummer Tim Fogarty’s contributions — some chimes here, an unexpectedly upbeat drum part there — and an impressive bit of work with looping pedals, the duo’s compositions take on an incredible musical and emotional complexity. Overall, the sounds coaxed out of Kristian Dunn’s double-necked guitar/bass are less mysterious than those from the bowed guitar of Sigur Ros’ Jonsi Birgisson, but the sight is just as impressive to behold.

El Ten Eleven tour dates:

9/26, Los Angeles, CA (Silver Lake Lounge) 10/13, Hollywood, CA (Lava Lounge) 11/4, Pasadena, CA (No Future Cafe)El Ten Eleven official website