Tunturia - Maps
Rating
RIYL
This Will Destroy YouPg. Lost
Laura
Explosions in the Sky
Your Ten Mofo
Tracklist
1. Panic Attack2. Echoes of the Unmoved
3. Silence is Consent
4. Cast Shadows on Clouds
5. October 4, 1957
6. Satellites
7. Tunturia
8. These are the Words
9. Robots Building Robots
10. Lost in the Hidden Forest
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Deriving their name from the Finnish word for “treeless plain,” Tunturia is a post-rock band from Ontario, Canada. Their music is pretty straightforward and doesn’t usually feature much more than the traditional post-rock quartet with twinkly guitars and heartfelt crescendos ala Explosions in the Sky. However, they do change it up by incorporating samples, synths, and droning noise into some of their tracks, which completely separates them from the EITS carbon copies. But the point of listening to Tunturia is not to hear something new and unique, but to hear what has been done before done even better or at least up to par.
Their debut record, Maps, begins with the most upbeat track on the record “Panic Attack,” which with its repetitive guitars and fast paced drums literally gets you bouncing off the walls. The interesting thing about “Panic Attack” is that it builds and builds but refuses to burst into an epic crescendo and instead subsides into oblivion. This stylistic choice was a wise one because it avoids the downfall of the typical crescendoXcore post-rock bands and really gives the song its own character. The second track “Echoes of the Unmoved” employs the same effect, but this time the subsidence is just a teaser and the song eventually climaxes. The fourth track, “Cast Shadows on Clouds,” is the centerpiece of Maps. Slowly churning guitars, perfectly executed sampling, immersing synths, and roaring drums all leading to a beautiful crescendo.
Up until this point, Maps is a shining debut record. However, after the upbeat and triumphant first half of Maps, the band clearly makes it their goal to deflate the record by slowing down the pace and making the overall atmosphere feel more resigned. This is a good choice, but the band ends up being very hit and miss in this regard. Tracks like “October 4, 1957,” “Satelites,” and “Those are the Words” are well done, heartfelt, and execute sampling masterfully. However, tracks like “Tunturia” and “Robots Building Robots” are basically ambient droning and feel really out of place. Granted, they’re used to deflate the record, but unlike the former tracks, they are not particularly engaging and they just stretch out the record and bore the listener. The final track on Maps seems to be Tunturia’s aim for the epic post-rock sound. They do an alright job at that, but nothing to really distinguish the song from all the other songs out there.
Overall, Maps is a nice first effort. However, in my estimation Tunturia should have cut some of the fat off and released their debut as an EP. That way, I would have been hyping this record as an excellent debut rather than pointing out its glaring holes. None the less, Maps is a nice record and shows that Tunturia is a band with lots of potential and that their music is definitely not as barren as their name suggests.
--Armand Babian
Comments
PA
Music Blog.
Depths blog. (my band)
Los Angeles
postrockpaperscissors
Toronto, Ontario
"Use short sentences. Use short first paragraphs. Use vigorous English. Be positive, not negative."
MySpace / Facebook
God!
Minnesota
Yeah, I'm totally with ya on that one.
Los Angeles
don't know why i mention this cause i'm pretty sure that comment was meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but whatever.
postrockpaperscissors
Toronto, Ontario
"Use short sentences. Use short first paragraphs. Use vigorous English. Be positive, not negative."
MySpace / Facebook
PA
Good review, Armand.
Music Blog.
Depths blog. (my band)
Minnesota
Dude, I totally agree.
Los Angeles
postrockpaperscissors
PA
LOL Rick that's not nice! Stick to your Cat pictures dammit! :p
Music Blog.
Depths blog. (my band)