The Octopus Project

The jokes about tentacles and ink could write themselves, so we won't bother. What we will do, however, is note how gleefully the members of Austin's Octopus Project plow through their glitched-out post-rock instrumentals. Armed with an arsenal of toys, keyboards, drum machines and samplers, spouses Josh and Yvonne Lambert, their friend Toto Miranda and a host of other four-limbed collaborators mash together organic and electronic sounds, dance grooves and rock freakouts to form a musical monster so dense and raucous, you might not even notice the lack of words. Forgoing the hipster-Muzak vibes of all the Tortoise followers, the Octopi play uninhibited, spastic Cuisinart compositions that will be familiar to fans of Four Tet and Animal Collective -- without ever seeming self-conscious, pretentious or overly ironic. Chaotic but groovy. Noisy but melodic. Silly but smart. And not a tentacle in sight.