La Makita Soma

La Makita Soma, a mostly instrumental five-piece band from Chicago, is all about the vibes. The vibraphone, that is. Unlike Mercury Program and such fellow Windy City post-rock acts as Tortoise et al., LMS might have worked as a score in Orwell’s original 1984 film adaptation featuring John Hurt. Occasionally the group dips into prog-like jams reminiscent of Magma, early Kansas or Gong (“Lexington & Campbell”), then enters indie-pop territory on “South on Western.” At times, there’s even a 5ive Style influence. Travis Stewart (guitars, vibes, trumpet) and Mark Ludemann (bass, vibes, keys) are able musicians who effectively meld disparate instruments with great effect alongside Derek Irvin (drums), Dan Snazelle (keys, bass) and Todd Marek (keys). “Spaceship” even features a nice freestyle by Hi-Fidel. After all these spaced-out keyboard jams, you may want to ease up on the pharmaceuticals.