ALBUM REVIEW: Vortex – Toundra

Instrumental music is intrinsically fickle. To have a marked impact, it cannot simply entail the absence of vocals. Rather, it must represent a much more pronounced flavour of artistic guile and conceit, in order for it to prosper without the supplementary aid of humanity’s oldest and most renowned instrument – the voice. The success or failure of instrumental music can be predicated on the aforementioned, and thus it becomes far simpler to distinguish the gold from the mould. TOUNDRA are an act that appear to be hyper-aware of this notion. Spanish by nature but also by demeanour, this quartet have consistently proven that they are able to delicately tiptoe through soundscapes as if enacting the tango. Unlike many of their contemporaries, their brand of instrumental post-rock is both unique and compelling, and based on the above logic, it seems fair to conclude that this is impressive in it’s own right. With four fully-fledged releases already in the bag (modestly entitled I-IV), TOUNDRA have armed themselves with a fifth, and will unhand the appropriately named Vortex. Let’s take a closer look.

Immediately this band pass the first test. At a humble forty-three minutes in total run-time, Vortex is able to dodge the first wave of negative stereotypes with consummate ease. Neatly condensed into eight tracks (an average of over five minutes each), TOUNDRA set the state for a journey that is concise enough so as to not become dull and wishy-washy, but long enough to explore the sound to a reasonable extent. The excellent pacing of the album is able to compliment this even further, with several tracks almost acting as interludes, and several others taking on the grandiose form of seven, eight, and even eleven minute epics.

Conveniently, the first example of this comes exactly as the album commences, with ninety-second intro piece Intro Vortex. During this short vignette, the band are able to showcase a healthy portion of the masterful arrangements that serve to define their sound. Orchestral-esque percussion crashes like waves in the backdrop, whilst a multi-layered array of guitar work rings out over the top, utilising both warm, clean electric tones, and charmingly authentic acoustic parts. A mere taste of what’s to come, this bleeds seamlessly into lead-single Cobra, the first of several lengthy compositions on the record. This time, a much more assertive sound graces the ears of the listener; the paces rises significantly, and a flurry of drum fills form the spine whilst ambient leads dominate the high-end and provide the melodic presence. With a dense, gloomy atmosphere boldly established, the song powers on and rattles through a series of contagious hooks deftly embedded within complex, progressive soundscapes. Time signatures are continuously moulded and remoulded like play-dough, alternate-picked leads dart around like a trapped wasp, and the general temperament of the song rises and falls time and again. At times, the sound takes on an aura of dark, aggressive, moody rock, and at others it’s able to adopt a much more jovial, almost country-Esq. complexion. It simply can’t make its mind up, and we love it.

TOUNDRA proceed to storm through the remainder of the album, proving every step of the way that they are in fine fettle. The pronounced, guitar-dominant approach very much persists, with interlude tracks Cartavio and Roy Neary both boasting a meandering stream of slow, atmospheric lead work, with the rest of the band taking a temporary back-seat. A similar stance is adopted with the intro to eleven-minute epic Mojave, with the first three minutes following a slow, anticipatory trope, before launching into an an assemblage of sombre, minor-scale arrangements. Once again injecting a welcome sense of balance is the use of melodic lead hooks, most notably via fifth track and second single Kingston Falls, and furthermore, some slightly more abrupt elements are dabbled with in order to widen the scope of the overall sound; most notably the employment of a few synth sections. All of this aside however, there are two key characteristics of Vortex that highlight its brilliance most effectively; the, complex, temperamental, but utterly dreamy soundscapes, and the sheer melodic catchiness. These two aspects, whilst being brilliantly executed in their own right, are rendered even more outstanding by the fact that they combine and collide so seamlessly. Often, memorability is sacrificed for the sake of complexity and musicianship, but that is simply not the case with Vortex. Rather, the two are delivered in equal measure, and en masse, and that is truly something for this band to be proud of.

Very few albums are perfect, but this one comes damn close. Perhaps, deferring from the deluge of positive comments, it can be said that at times, the songwriting to an extent sacrifices a degree of technicality and instrumentation for the sake of potent atmosphere and general tunefulness (with just one guitar solo on the record), however this can be easily overlooked. Broadly speaking, what Vortex delivers is an intricately balanced mashup of dense ambience, and memorable, melodic acumen; a rare combination, particularly in post-rock. Generally speaking, what TOUNDRA have produced here is an almighty spectacle of classical and contemporary, melody and complexity, and a general musicianship that simply should not be overlooked. With their fifth full-length attempt, it would appear that this band have finally, truly hit the nail on the head, and with that in mind, the future certainly looks bright.

Rating: 9/10

Vortex is out now via InsideOut Music.

Like TOUNDRA on Facebook.