 Tristan
Da Cunha
Self-titled CD
Losing
Blueprint
Genres: indie rock, math rock, "scientist
rock"
Losing Blueprint
12A Day St.
Waltham, MA 02453
Mar 17 - 23 2003 |
A
while back I reviewed another Losing Blueprint record, Fiesel's
The Ruins of This Life. I praised its fantastic, angular
sound and the amazing power it boasted. It was one 2002's better
albums. And then the time came
to give another Losing Blueprint act a listen. Tristan Da
Cunha. Their self-titled debut album. Ooh boy. They call it "scientist rock." Or, rather,
"mad scientist rock." This, of course, because of the
complicated time measures and the meticulously fine-tweaked, complex
sound. And the "rock" part - well, that's because they
really do rock. I mean seriously. You've all heard your fair
share of "math rock" out there - lots of is just as boring
as all heck. But what Tristan Da Cunha have done - well,
they've mixed their complicated sound with a much more primal,
thrilling style. Beneath the complexity, they attack the ears
with a barrage of jerky rhythms, blasting guitar, and fine-ass melody.
It's kind of like a more vibrant Faraquet.
To pick out particular tracks is a worthless exercise. The
songs flow together so perfectly that, hey, "Jesus Marches With a
Little Spider" and "Narcosynthesis" may have different
names, and may be completely different songs, but their spasmodic,
crazy sounds go hand-in-hand. Who wants to classify? This
music is for listening, bitch.
And I guess that's the essence of this whole record. You
listen, you enjoy, and in the end you're so friggin' fried by the
music that you don't want to examine what you've just heard. You
just sit up, put your finger down on the little forward-triangle, and
let the speakers work their magic.
88%
Fun Fact: Tristan Da Cunha
take their name from the island of the same name, which is apparently
"the remotest island in the world." Tristan apparently houses but one town, The Settlement of Edinburgh, which
"now numbers just over 300 proud and hospitable people with only
seven surnames among them." The population apparently
speaks a "preserved Georgian dialect laced with a few early
Americanisms." The island is located in the South Pacific
island 1500 miles from South Africa, near the islands Nightingale,
Middle, Inaccessible, and Stoltenhoff. More information is
available here.
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
11 songs, distributed by the
label, released 2002] |
