TESA - G H O S T (My Proud Mountain) 2016
7
A strong focus on layered dynamics, pummelling sludge grooves and corkscrewing sonics puts Latvian trio TESA in a similar camp to touring mates Neurosis, but that’s where most similarities end. Whereas the latter are all about the power of contemplation and action, G H O S T is focused on a more immediate sense of reaction, be it in the urgent drive of H’s galloping stomp or, conversely, in T’s sparse echoes, its forlorn melodies suspended upon a web of fuzz. Pushing vocals down to barely audible levels and offering a profoundly moving sense of emotional resonance, TESA’s picture of energy and passivity locked in a never-ending scrap is a bloody, hypnotic battle royale.