Customer Reviews

Spine & Sensory

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I first saw tristeza 7 years ago at an independant music festival in Wayne, Michigan.

The fest was centered around hardcore punk (with a generous handful of fugazi rip-offs) and it lasted three days long. At some point during day 2, a band dressed in all dark clothing took the stage and didn't even address the crowd as to the beginning of their set. This faux pas made me raise an eyebrow. They started playing this slow, yet driving music and i just stood there in front watching...waiting for the vocals to kick in. They never came.
At the time (being that all i was listening to was thrash), my predictable ADD reaction to this would've been to walk away and bum around the vinyl distros, but i didn't. I just stood there stumped with my jaw dropped wondering where the hell this band came from. My tastes were instantly expanded and my record collection changed forever.

this record, in ways, doesn't stand up to the likes of (some)Mogwai, Tortoise, don caballero, Directions In Music...but for a debut full length from a young band (a bunch of San Diegons *and one hometown boy*, coming from a scene where no one seemed to be slowing down) its worth the listen. Hopefully it will turn a few on to their later, more mature material and hopefully those few will get a chance to see them live...its worth it.

from start to finish this cd had my attention...golden hill just pulls you in and that's how it all begins my friend...songs like "The Marrionette" and "Cinematography" inspire you and bring you up into the clouds, and "Pink Elephants" is a sentimental journey through euphoria...with melodious guitar stylings and slow yet grooving drum beats and bass lines...a perfect blend of piano and guitar...this was put together nicely..

it's now 2004 and this album still gets played all the time ( at least it's a favorite in my stereo- and should be in yours ) spine and sensory deserves every bit of recognition an album could get- from track placement, to cover design and then some. the guitars are inctricate and precise, the bass is overwhelmingly catchy and complimentary to the drums and piano combinations. listen to this cd- see that it was recorded in 1997 while you were in junior high and prepare to be dumbfounded and amazed. these guys need to break out of san fran and get the heck on over to the east coast cuz i missed them the last time they were in pgh. which was like 3 years ago!!

Tristeza's first full-length finds them in a compositional mode, integrating the drones and cyclic instrumental passages that would become more dominant in later releases into a compact post-rock manifesto. While comparisons to Tortoise might be begged, Tristeza delivers a more guitar-based product, full of interlocking arpeggios and restful melodic themes that would seem at home on a Japancakes record.

The band has sounded less urgent on other releases, although the relatively simple and similar mechanical arpeggios that seem to drive the writing often become a mere thing of dulled shine to admire from afar instead of being the introspective melodic soft-rock the disc's best put together tracks prove.