Tristeza’s new album, Fate Unfolds
From the surreal opening to the feverish end, Fate Unfolds captivates with a tonal palette that is both broad and gripping. Indie kings of the southwest, Tristeza, have been at it for slightly over a decade. Their latest full-length delivers without a drop of disappointment. Fate Unfolds is drenched with the seemingly long lost art of crafting an album that plays as one solid piece. I could pick several ‘singles’ that I hear on this record, but to do anything but drop the needle and park it does a huge disservice to the artistry and arrangement of this record as a whole. Herein are huge washes of guitars and synths, layered with drums dubbing back and forth from programmed to acoustic with ease and a backbeat that is anything but ‘indie rock’.
Instrumental bands get a bad rap. It’s mostly because of the Canadian melodramatics that ruined it for everybody in the late nineties. If I didn’t know this record was slated for a release in just a couple months, I don’t know that I could have accurately pinpointed a time period on the recording of these songs. While several production elements hint at a 70s dub feel, there is a mature tension, and raw rock element that is an emergent sound for Tristeza. It’s almost like certain elements invoke the image of Lee Perry slapping hi-fives to Steve Albini behind the mixing console.
Tristeza are also helping spearhead a trend that is integral to the survival and validity of independent music. There will be no US compact disc release of this album. Better Looking Records will distribute the digital format of Fate Unfolds, and Wildlife Vinyl will be pressing the vinyl.
[audio:
Tagged: Fate Unfolds, Tristeza
Also by DAVE MATA
Violet Hour Mural by Tyrue ‘Slang’ Jones
Graff legend Slang used to be a neighbor of mine. His sharp-witted personality is mirrored in his latest commision for Wicker Park’s upscale cocktail hole in the wall, The Violet Hour. Read more
Twisted, offensive, hilarious. I can’t quite put my finger on where all these people must be coming from. It seems that the strongest thread between all of these hilarious shorts is an incredibly dark sense of humor. Read more
Meaty Ogre versus Crushcon7: Sword
Second in the series of hip hop instrumentals with a different producer on each side of the LP comes Sword for Fieldwerk Recordings. Something about hypnotic rhythms paired with spacey synth samples and R&B] vocals just adds up to a cold-ass winter for me. Meaty Ogre takes side A, showing off his craft for sampling, timing, and bringing a hook home without wearing it out. The flip follows the dark theme, with more sweeping beats aimed at the ‘banging head’ by producer and label owner Crushcon7. This record beats as hard as an ice cold pavement.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
YOU'RE SAYING (0)
No comments yet.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Paul Fryer’s sculptures and installations seem to come from a not-too-distant future dystopia where the joke of civilization, organized religion, and technology has been revealed to us. Read more
Great to see that our friends over at South African low cost airline Kulula are still flying with a mischevious metaphorical smile wiped right across their planes. Cheeky? Yes. But we love the irreverence. Read more
Oh man! To be young enough to bop, groove and scratch like these kids. For Japanese superstars DJ Sara (8 years old) and DJ Ryusei (5 years old), there’s no such thing as tomorrow. Read more
Lost At E Minor co-publisher, Andy Howard, is on a whirlwind tour of America at the moment, en route to his new base in London. He’s been diligently documenting his travels through his camera, the images from his New York leg being particularly interesting. Read more
An amazing archive of brilliant photography and great write ups, and veering heavily towards motorcycle and gang culture photography, the creative whirlwind behind the Selvedge Yard blog groups together in his archive a collective spirit of musicians, artists, writers and rebel rousers that I find so inspiring and interesting. Read more
There’s an intriguing sense of urgency about Modest Mouse’s music. It comes at you in sonic waves, each one packed with enough bite to sink a small trawler.
Alfred Hitchcock’s icy heroines inspired Yeojin Bae’s Autumn Winter 09 collection. Its 40s noir meets modern day muse with seductive tailoring and asymmetric style. Yeojin Bae’s signature has become ultra-feminine shapes contrasted with coveted tailored separates Unravelled shapes are expertly tailored. Raw edge silk blouses have dipping necklines and are worn boxy and loose. Wool Angora overcoats feature a dramatic bias cut hem and buckled flare sleeve in black or herringbone. Flame red chiffon falls delicately into an asymmetric wrap skirt, as figure hugging stretch leggings bring billowing shapes back into the body. Read more
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
How ’bout this Jose Manuel Hortelano-Pi guy, huh? Quite the illustrator, yessiree Bob. From Spain, too. Spain is great! Read more
Mathematics? Leave me out. Fashematics? Now you’re talking! This gem of a site is a runway equation that adds up to a whole lot of wonderful.
Pitched as ‘Ulterior Motives in Contemporary Art’, Disorder Disorder is running until November 14 at Penrith Regional Gallery. It’ll be well worth the trip out west of Sydney: the Australian, Japanese, American and European cast reads like a warriors of street art roundup and includes Mike Giant, Ed Templeton, Anthony Lister [artwork above], Ozzie Wright, and Jonathan Zawada. Read more
Here are a couple awesome pieces by Matt Leines that were recently on display in the Doubting Thomases exhibit at Nudashank gallery in Baltimore. Gives me ideas for Halloween. Read more
Matthew Dear’s Black City album totem
Our friends at Ghostly International are releasing Matthew Dear’s Black City album as a limited edition ‘totem’. A what? A totem – a limited edition metal bar used to access a private music chamber. Cool! Read more
Inspired by the unique digital clock apps created by the designer, Sean Zoega, the i-toc watch is a colorful physical manifestation of digital ideas featuring bespoke two-disc Japan quartz movement. The outer gradient displays the minutes while the inner gradient shows the hours. The rings interact, creating an ever-changing pattern of design and colour. We have them for sale in our online store. Read more
If you have a Twitter feed that focuses on cool pop cultural things and you’d like to swap Tweets with Lost At E Minor and other like-minded Twitterers, drop us a note (with Tweet Swap in the title). We have a system in place and we’d like to have you in on it! [illustration by Brad Fitzpatrick]
FOLLOW US
DISCOVER MORE
SO...
SEARCH: Can't find what you're looking for? Do a search..
IS IT GOOD FOR YOU TOO?
We hope you're enjoying your time on Lost At E Minor, but it's not over yet. Got something to share? Tell us about it and we'll look to publish it. If you want to have your work featured on the site, we'd love to hear from you. Pssst, we also have an online store stocking some of the goodies we feature on the site.
If you're a media agency and want to use this platform to connect with our readership, then drop us a line and tell us about it. Oh yeah, and we do digital consulting for cool brands that want to reach the sort of demographic that visits this site.
