Have you ever returned to a place from your childhood? Whether it be an old house, a street, a school, a playground. These spaces stay the same, almost startlingly so, yet walking through them feels liminal, like visiting a dream. They change a little, and we change a little, but scarcely enough to smooth out the grooves and patterns. Circumstances change, perspectives change, the power it holds over you changes, but somehow the feelings stay the same. It’s why revisiting these places is so interesting, the emotions are viewable, palpable, like walking through a memory of a previous life.
Tətsuo‘s sophomore album Dots holds this space of same, same but different across its six rather beefy tracks, and it’s our pleasure to unveil it to you today. Written each time on the same Friday, same hour, same location, the band captures how a space and a circumstance can have its own intangible personality, while the world around it changes. In some ways it’s quite a beautiful exploration of how the way we interact with our environments has everything to do with our mood and the moment, yet the core of what it means to us remains the same. Of Dots the band states, ‘[It’s] a story. A story of what? It’s not very clear. There was study, there were ideas, there were intuitions, there was immediacy, there was alcohol, there was anger, there was discouragement, there were so many other feelings, there was life.‘ We’re here today to premiere the album in full ahead of its release date this Saturday, April 13th.
Forming in 2019 as a three-piece, and soon after adding vocals and a second guitarist, Tətsuo are a melting pot of sludge, post-metal, and post-hardcore. While the influences are clear and present, I was surprised at the clarity of the band’s identity- these songs are tightly composed and carry the mood with sleek efficiency. Think Gojira, but then turn the math dial down a few notches and the shoegaze dial up a few. It’s dark and brooding, yet strangely uplifting, as if we are trudging together through mud, an army strong, persevering towards a common goal. The band describes these as ‘tar-thick hymns‘ and I couldn’t put it better.
While the mood and the core personality stays the same, Tətsuo explores a variety of sounds throughout Dots – I’m sure you’ll find the full album quite a pleasure to listen through. There are more experimental post-rock moments, where strange stompboxes fill the sonic space with echoes and reverb, headbanging sludge where the vocalist Julian’s power and aggression shine through, and extended riffing where the psych-rock and post-hardcore influences for the guitarists are showcased. I can feel the freedom and playfulness of a rehearsal session throughout, yet the tracks are tight and purposeful. Tommaso Mantelli’s masterful production ensures crushing power is at the core of it all, and you’ll be well rewarded for finding some good speakers to blast this album on.
Dots comes out via Hypershape Records on April 13th, and can be pre-ordered at the label’s Bandcamp. You can also check it out at the label’s website on release. Be sure to check out these legends at their Facebook and Instagram to keep posted on all things Tətsuo.
