Album Review: Hip Mobility by Quindar

Quindar is Wilco keyboardist Mikael Jorgensen and art historian James Merle Thomas making electronic music that includes archival audio from actual space missions of the '60s and '70s. The group is named after small communication beeps from Apollo space missions called Quindar Tones. The use of vintage analog synths and found sound techniques enhance the retro-sci-fi vibe. One act similarly interested in this era and subject matter is seminal duo Boards of Canada, and while trip-hop-ish tracks "Twin Pole Sunshade for Rusty Schweickart" and "Body Techniques" bear this influence, the rest of the record reaches beyond that.

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Quindar refers to the transmission tones, or "beeps" heard during the Apollo space missions. It's also the name of a curious electronic music duo consisting of Wilco keyboardist Mikael Jorgensen and art historian/curator James Merle Thomas. The band name is fitting, as it represents a concerted effort to marry music with space travel. The backstory behind Quindar (the band) is a unique one.

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As a full-time member of Wilco, Mikael Jorgensen's ideas are always a part, and never the whole of bandleader Jeff Tweedy's songs. There's a case to be made for Jorgensen's prowess as a singer-songwriter in his own right, but he's made it difficult in the past. Quindar, his new space-themed project ….

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