Alto!, "LP3" (Trouble In Mind)

"LP3" is the sound of Alto finding greater success creating unworldly sounds out of humble basement jams.

[EXPERIMENTAL JOURNEYS] Across three albums, percussion-heavy trio Alto has continually expanded its broad range of influences, incorporating prog rock, desert psych, post-war German music and African drumming into its exploratory mélange. On the three-song LP3, guitarist Derek Monypeny and dual drummers Steven Stone and Kyle Emory find equal space for dissonant freak-outs as they do minimal electronics. Each track is an organic composition that seems to grow in real time. "Piece Fourteen" is most emblematic of the band's influences and jamming aesthetic, taking the listener on a journey via electronic bass and crescendoing guitar work. "Piece Sixteen-Fifteen" stretches more than 18 minutes, growing from windswept ambience to what sounds like an oud taking over the main riff, with the polyrhythmic motorik beat tying it all together. LP3 is the sound of Alto finding greater success creating unworldly sounds out of humble basement jams, offering something for anyone who appreciates bearded men playing the triangle in one breath and a stoner-rock power-chord slam the next.

SEE IT: Alto plays the World Famous Kenton Club, 2025 N Kilpatrick St., with Grex and Noah Bernstein, on Thursday, June 16. 9:30 pm. Free. 21+.

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