Records of the Week

TOUNDRA ON MYSPACE

In music review, the hunt for albums can easily be likened to the tasks of forgetful archaeologist. This is not to say that musical works are akin to fossils, buried and all but forgotten if not for record-keeping; rather, having previously, if briefly, seen any given work is likely, and the subsequent rediscovery can evoke a sense of awe at dusting off an item of monumental stature. Such is the case with the latest release from the Spanish quartet Toundra, which nearly threatened to be missed by the Nowlikephotographs radar – and an album featuring such towering and driving post-metal does not deserve to be passed up. For their sophomore album, Toundra stitch together both the bombastic and ascetic in ideation (bringing to mind Tesa of Latvia), with threads of distortion weaving the pathway from one track to the next – very much akin to last year’s “This We Take With Us” from The Autumn Project and this year’s “Ausserwelt” from Year of No Light. “(II)” shares a few common elements beyond simple transitions with “Ausserwelt”; while set definitively in the instrumental rock arena (and not instrumental doom metal), the heaviest points in 11-minute epic “Magreb” and album closer “Bizancio / Byzantium” are reminiscent of Year of No Light‘s recent soaring tremolos. With a consistent realization of their sound throughout the album, a knowledge of cohesiveness and completion descend upon the listener through the closer’s somber violin line, to the final sonic blast of (II). With just over 40 minutes, Toundra deliver a terse testament to the survival of post-metal, and craft a sound that should prove impossible to ignore.