Albums by this artist

Spine And Sensory (1999)

Insound Tour EP (1999)

Interviews

Sensory Stimulation
January 15, 2000

Tristeza

Insound Tour EP

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» JONATHAN COHEN | SENIOR EDITOR

Tristeza Insound Tour EP Insound, 1999 RiYL: Aerial M, Tortoise, Pell Mell, Cul De Sac, Ganger

Insound's "Tour Support" EPs are such a novel idea, one wonders why they hadn't been thought of earlier. Picture it: Indie Band goes on tour, perhaps in support of a new album. Rabid Indie Fan already purchased the album ahead of time, but still has some cash burning up his wallet, set aside especially for the merch stand. Imagine fanboy's delight when he sees a new item for sale there. Imagine Indie Band's delight when it pockets the dough from the sale of said item.

That's basically the concept behind these EPs. They're not available in stores, only from the bands directly or from the Insound site. Tristeza's is the first in the series, and this four-song affair makes for a nice companion piece to the band's debut album Spine And Sensory. At times, the San Diego instrumental outfit seems caught in the middle ground of inspiration: Tortoise, Pell Mell or Cul De Sac. But for the most part, Tristeza arrive at a satisfying mix of dark melodies and tinkling atmospherics.

"Pink Elephants" and "La Verdad" flex a bit more muscle than the bulk of Spine And Sensory's content, which is certainly an encouraging step forward. "Pink Elephants" balances pretty, intertwined guitar melodies atop alternately restrained and excitable rhythms, more than making up for the lack of a vocalist to impart mood. I hate to throw around over-used genre terms, but any emo band worth its salt would love to have this melody for its own manipulations. "La Verdad," met with enthusiastic response during live performances, recalls Aerial M in its attention to dynamics and repetition of the dreamy melody.

The other two tracks attempt to present some new ideas, but come up less than successful. A remix of Spine And Sensory's "Memphis Emphasis" overlooks that song's propulsive melody in favor of a Tortoise-style foray into skipping electronic beats and studio chatter. The two minutes worth of memorable guitar lines on "The Cosmic Color Of" are, oddly, followed up by over 45 minutes (!) of glacially unfolding phasing. A failed experiment in minimalism, developing the first portion of the song into something more worthwhile is highly advised. With a little more sonic oomph and additional time to develop as a band, Tristeza could be on to something great.

JONATHAN COHEN | Jonathan Cohen co-created Nude As The News with his Indiana University mates Troy Carpenter and Ben French. When not traversing the globe for business and pleasure, he holds down the fort as a senior editor for Billboard in New York. Stop him and he just may ask, "what for lunch?"