ninehertz

I took up the call to review this well presented mini cd-r because it was described as 'Instrumental hardcore, indie stuff - frantic, contains a cello...' and figured with a description like that it'd either be absolutely fucking awful or maybe, just maybe, something rather special...

So which is it? Well, a little background first here perhaps. Trystero are a four piece from Buffalo, NY and yes, believe it or not, they actually do play entirely instrumental hardcore. What's that? No Screams? No overtly in-your-face message? Not even a whiny singing bit?! Crikey! And did you say a fucking CELLO?!?! Well slow down there now, let's not forget that Eden Maine's entirely stunning full length swansong 'To You The First Star' contained several songs featuring a cellist but an actual full time band member? Are they mad?!

OK, enough messing about with genre cliches. Basically, I was assuming this was gonna be 'Artcore' or whatever the hell you wanna call it, a la The Murder Of Rosa Luxemburg and their tight jean wearing contemporaries. In other words; fairly spazzy guitar with almost no low end to the sound, at times unnecessarily complicated song structures and poetry for lyrics delivered in as camp a fashion as possible, in this case with a cello stuck in for good measure and/or a bit of a laugh.

This is not the case. The song writing itself is pretty much just basic (if solidly played) hardcore flitting impatiently between Converge and the Dead Kennedys with very occasional nods toward slower, non hardcore 'clever' bands like Neurosis and a friendly little garage band feel hidden away at it's heart. Slightly arty/indie overtones are introduced into the tracks in the form of overtly gratuitous David Lynch samples (anyone who's ever seen Lost Highway will recognise them from a mile off which is a shame as whilst I'm not averse to samples in a song, I'm of the opinion that it should only happen if a little imagination is used and they add to the song rather than detract from it). As for the cello, well, (with one brief exception toward the end of the five tracks) the recording on the cd is so fucking shoddy (yes i know it's only a demo but come on man! a little effort, eh?!) that you can't actually hear it and as such it becomes rather a moot point...

So in conclusion, as a hardcore band they're alright with the added interest of not just sticking to the tried and tested aggression of that often under-imaginative genre and the almost unheard of lack of vocalist but they'll need to try harder before they can convince me that they have any real personality of their own and a hell of a lot harder to convince me to pay for anything...

And that description had such potential!