DUD OF THE MONTH

Stars of the Lid
"And Their Refinement of the Decline"
(Kranky)

One of those records -- they abound in "post-rock" -- that get nothing but raves because only believers bother to listen. This drone duo met at the University of Texas in 1990; one is now a muso expatriated to Belgium, the other a debate coach expatriated to the University of Southern California. This two-hour double-CD/triple-LP, their first product since 2001, is grand, somber, amelodic, arhythmic and slow, leaving plenty of time to admire the notes' altered states. Nothing is dreamy, misty or languorous -- minimalists though they are, they're committed to accruing aural mass. An early advocate observed that their music made "consciousness seem like an annoying state." He considered that a compliment.

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