Tunic : "Wrong Dream"

 

This Canadian band released this album back in April and I am just not getting around to it. It is a raw exercise in dissonant noise rock that embraces the genre's punk roots. Sometimes single note melodies are allowed to ring out. This more atmospheric path has an unsettling ambiance that allows the pained howl of the vocals to have more impact. The instruments collide with one another going into the second song, but they are quick to drop things down to the bass line. Each song takes you a step further into an unhinged mind.  It is like some of the best records of the 90s underground without paying homage to any particular artist. However by the time we get to "Disease' I begin to feel like I am going to need a little more as I go deeper into the album than angry shouts chanted. 

They bring things down a bit with "My Body, My Blood". The bass line carries the verses that he rants over in a more restrained fashion. It works off the loud to soft formula without taking it to either extreme. The drums add a jazzy flare before things get noise ridden. "Protected' finds the vocals more spoken, which is the other dynamic aside from being yelled. There are many of the same elements in play but they come at them from a different angle. The dynamics are gradual rather than a sudden sift of gears. "Whispering" has more of a Fugazi like bass line. They launch into a similar brand of lurching math punk. There is a darker mood to it which I like. The yelled vocals use a marginally different cadence to get their point across. "Indirect' follows a similar vibe and almost breezes past me. 

"Under Glass' adds to the unsettling effect the largely dissonant riffs on this album have already set the tone for. Things slow into a more deliberate creep for the brooding of "Empty Husk" which builds into something that has more sonic depth than anything else offered on the album. I will give this album a 9, as they have succeeded in crafting what they set out to do. The vocals are less dynamic than my personal preferences , but it is something I can overlook given the genre, chances are if you like this kind of 90s influenced noise rock then you are not going to mind them much either, With that said there is a great deal of emotion poured into the guitar playing that will give fans of this sort of thing much to celebrate.