Tristeza Paisajes

As I listen to Tristeza’s latest full-length effort Paisajes, the temperature has dropped precipitously, and the prospect of venturing into the cold, windy near-badlands is daunting. Thankfully, this isn’t just some cold-blooded, calculated post-rock album; the vibrancy of tone here is something I can wrap myself in — and while it may not stay the effects of the indelibly bitter wind, it’s at least something.

On a cold autumn’s night, Paisajes is invigorating. This is an album with energy and verve; it’s the post-rock that’s grown up alongside the typified “soft-loud-soft” (or, if you will, “loud-soft-loud”) approach that’s perhaps better known, but what we have here is more than that. A quick reading of the first two tracks will show something you might expect from a run-of-the-mill guitar-oriented post-rock group, but when the horns and vibraphone kick into the mix during A Traves de los Ojos de Nuestras Hijas, stand back: There’s a lot here.

Energetic and full of life, the album soldiers on; guitars weave in and out of play, melodies flit about, and the whole affair comes together in waves of sound. The depth might be momentarily overwhelming, but that’s the danger of taking a single glance: Paisajes isn’t an album that can be consumed quickly, but it’s not easy to dismiss, either.

That’s not to say that Tristeza is playing it safe; it’s clear they’re not. In this post-Tortoise post-rock landscape, though, they’re not introducing too many elements to the fluid genre, even when those horns kick in. Nor is Paisajes a pedantic retelling of the post-rock idea; instead, what the successful post-rock outfit has done here is something more subtle. They’ve produced evocative music with flair and a unique style — somehow, Tristeza has managed to infuse Latin horns with guitar-strong post-rock.

It’s a little odd, yes, even if it’s hardly pioneering. In crafting Paisajes, Tristeza may not have struck gold, and they’ve probably not struck oil, either — but they have struck a rich vein of form, and the results are refreshing.