1. Dahlem
2. Cosimo
3. Tal
4. Feld
5. Portrait Song
6. Sol
7. Plong
8. Miss You
9. Basic
10. Venus
11. Non Song
12. Ovo
13. Bologna
14. Opak

Berlin-based triumvirate To Rococo Rot have made some of the most subtly compelling records within the so-called post-rock idiom over the last few years. Simple overlapping melodies, steady loping rhythms and an open approach to blending instrumentation and electronics have been the threads throughout their work: Hotel Morgen brings us more of these unhurried instrumental pastiches. Where most bands tend to use peaks and troughs to create drama, suspense and excitement, TRR eschew such obvious routines. Their songs plod along at calm, even docile paces, in no particular rush to get anywhere, meandering slowly and enigmatically as if they were polite strolls in the countryside.

The principal allure of the tunes lies in their melodic structure, the band's choice of sounds and instruments and their endlessly innovative amalgams of sounds and textures. Cuts such as "Miss You"¹ and "Bologna" return to earlier techno influences, perhaps to make sure we are still awake, but we are always brought back to more soothing fare, whether it be the pure, streamlined ambience of the aptly named "Non Song", or the quiet subversion of a song such as "Ovo". Hotel Morgen, overall, is the sound of a band comfortable in their self-constructed musical limbo-world. --Ern Bay