This is just my first impressions, so expect a follow up.
OK, USOT are gone. That's ok, because nobody is dead, and so everyone can still make music- just in new permutations. I can tell that Tyranny is Tyranny comes them right down to the title- they say it's a quote from Howard Zinn, but I say it's a quote from pre-revolutionary war Boston, where, when the call for conscription came up, and it was discovered that substitutes were being employed by the wealthy sons of the new "American Aristocracy"- the chant was "Tyranny is tyranny let it come from where it may" meaning, much like Pete Townshend- "Meet the new Boss, same as the old Boss"-
I bring all this up for more reason than simply showing off my command of history- although I've got a pretty good handle on history- it's in the Pete Townshend reference- much like a Keith Moon-less Who, the only direction Tyranny is Tyranny could go in is less frantic, less fevered. They still retain the academic chops, not to mention the instrumental prowess of USOT, but song structures are both looser and more streamlined. The time signatures are less intricate, and the tempo less subject to change. They seem to take their cues from Pelican, and other such post-metal peers, and play an abstracted form of sludge metal song structure, but with more atonalism, and more math-rock arrangements. Still, I could see them on the same bill with the aforementioned Pelican, Isis, and derivatives thereof, like Aeges and Palms. But the spine of the songs is still good, old fashioned midwestern skronk- Slint to Killdozer variety. Yes, that's still a good chunk of musical territory- but these guys do cover a pretty varied area- probably the main unified area is that the tempo stays mid-to-slow. A track like "Down the K Hole" could be a USOT song, slowed down, but immediately afterward, "The Haze of Childhood" is almost a Merzbow-esque workout in near-total feedback noise, meanwhile, "Always Stockholm, Never Lima" cover hard indie rock ground- of an "Alternative Nation" variety ( read Sonic Youth-to-Dinosaur-to-Pixies) with almost Helmet-like vocals. That's pretty damn varied. The big Hit Single ( from whence they got all the money) { How many people just heard Lee Ving's voice in their head?} "Manufacturing Truth" meanwhile grinds along like Entertainment!-era Gang of Four meets Darker Days Ahead-era Tragedy. Crust Sludge dance No wave, anyone?
So, I still have to process this a bit. It's definitely post-hardcore, and definitely post-metal influenced but I'm not quite sure where it lands with me. I like it, but I'm not quite sure what I expect from it, yet- does that make any sense? I guess I'm trying to say that I'm still listening from a USOT shaded filter, and I think I need to find a unique niche in my mind for this because it really does occupy a space I haven't really filled before.
For the meantime, I say, give it a listen, and see if it doesn't defy your expectations.
Thanks for the kind words as always Max. Although your description of our record confuses even me, I can't say you're wrong. I felt like this record hung together pretty well both thematically and musically but I can see now that there are some rather schizophrenic elements to what we were trying to accomplish. We definitely were trying to break away from what USoT was doing. But given that I'm still the song writer and vocalist, we weren't entirely successful leaving the past behind. No matter. We forge our path regardless. Thanks again for all your support and enthusiasm over the years.
ReplyDeleteRusty, I put Ryan's quote on top of my Blog not just because it sounds noble- I really do believe in supporting those things that are good, but also those that are valid, and sincere. So, even the points on the spectrum where I'm not quite sure, I want to offer my support. One of my favorite bands, Refused, had moments where the first listen left me completely cold, but upon repeated listens, the rewards manifested- that's because I trust them to be creating something valid, even if I don't "get it"- Likewise with TiT- I completely trust your methodology- so, I know that if something seems loose, now, you've got far too much precision for it genuinely to be like some "jam band" where they stumble across riffs- so give me about a week, and I'm sure everything will snap into place.
DeleteNo worries. I knew that more than a few USoT fans were going to balk a bit, but we believe in this and, frankly, I'm not interested in doing Toil songs with a different band. New beginnings, new things to explore. I AM finding that most people think this stuff is more accessible than Toil and I'm totally OK with that. Though I never really thought of any of our stuff as "loose." Anyhow, thanks again for everything. Seriously.
ReplyDeleteBeen listening more, and, as a tool to try to "place" the songs, dug out Tragedy's "Darker Days" and Gang of Four's "Solid Gold" and sure enough, something is starting to gel in my mind- it's about repetition and variation and pacing. GO4 probably repeat the riffs less than Tragedy do, yet nobody seems to think of Tragedy as repetitive, and I think it's to do with how the variations are paced- likewise the pacing ( as opposed to tempo) seems to have changed in response to the changes in the structure of the riffs- I think that might be why it's reading as loose, or less "mathy" to me- I'm expecting variations where I'm not getting them, and I'm getting variations where I'm not expecting them. Again, I wanted to emphasize that it's not that I'm disliking, it's that I'm confusing myself. Yeah, I'm one of 'those", heh.
ReplyDeleteHey man, you think and obsess about music even more than I do. If/when we ever sit down to have a beer we're going to have a lot to talk about. Thanks for listening -- really. I LOVE your statement "I'm expecting variations where I'm not getting them, and I'm getting variations where I'm not expecting them," hits the nail on the head. Thanks once again.
Delete