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The burgeoning music scene in Denton, Tx has long been known for releasing quality music; Tre Orsi is apparently going to be another one of those bands. Recently, they’ve gotten some press for their appearance on Casual Victim Pile compilation by Matador, but Devices + Emblems gives the group a more definititve sound.
From the onset of this album you can tell that there is a brooding sense of post-punk that lies beneath this record. Repetitive angular guitars seem to drive the opener “Manumission” prior to the climactic break down that kick starts the rest of the number. But, it’s “Engineer” that will undoubtedly grab your ear as it did mine. For some reason, I hear a young J. Mascis wailing away on the guitars here, or at least in the vocals. Still, people will want to toss around Unwound references, which I suppose is relevant.
One of the things that just gets me here, though never quite fulfills, is the increasing tension that is built by piling guitars atop one another in a repetitive fashion. But, while they could completely release the fury upon listeners, they use a bit of restraint–perhaps this a trait suggested by their producer Bubba Kadane. I love it all, but give me a little bit of a yelp, or just a nice solid scream.
What’s amazing on Devices + Ebmblems is how enthralling the record can be with just the simplest songwriting. Nowadays, every record seems to need a touch of electronics or string arrangements ( I do like that stuff too), but a song like “Sargasso” desmonstrates that some bands don’t really need any of the tricks. It’s refreshing to hear a song that relies a great deal on cleanly produced vocals with just a hint of some off-kilter intonation to drive the song’s message home.
Then again, perhaps this is just a record of nostalgic purposes. It’s clear cut in its goal, and it doesn’t deviate too much from where it began. You get guitars cutting in and out, along with moments that seem to build towards no ending. Yet, in using this approach, Tre Orsi strays away from every mainstay in independent music. They’ve got a stylistic approach that is all their own, but one that seems to echo every record in your collection from those teenage years. By no means is this meant as a condemnation of the group, as I definitely have an affinity for this music, and this album.
Devices + Emblems is a record that wears its influences openly, leading you to walk down memory lane with Tre Orsi. Still, something within this record is begging you to be pulled in (or it begged me), and you’ll find yourself enjoying every twist and turn of the guitar all the way until you arrive at “Declaring Space,” the last track. It’s here where it all makes sense, it all comes together; the past, the present and the future unite for a really solid record.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/02-The-Engineer.mp3]
Download: Tre Orsi – The Engineer [MP3]
Ah yes so we finally made it through the SXSW week and everyone is secretly glad that we’ll have to wait another year before doing it all again. Someone once said to me this week, “man this is like your World Cup huh?”, to which I said “hell yeah it is”. That might be the understatement of the century… So now that the week is behind us with ears ringing and our bodies not used to the lapse in alcohol intake, let’s follow the jump to re-live the week via amateur photography.
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