1. Ilium (named for the fictional setting of Kurt Vonnegut's first novel, Player Piano, a stand-in for the author's then-home of Ithaca, NY) was led by guitarist James Hughes and also featured bassist Thomas J. Quinn and drummer Christopher Robert. Hughes formed the group in high school, heavily influenced by the Tortoise/Gastr del Sol/Sea and Cake axis of Chicago avant-rock, the groove-oriented minimalism of Kraftwerk and the electronica-heavy lineup of Hefty Records, the label started by his older brother, John Hughes III. (And yes, the Hughes boys are the sons of '80s superstar film director John Hughes.) Within a year, the trio signed to Hefty and released the Plexiglass Cube EP, a set of five untitled instrumental... read more