Tristeza

A Colores

(Better Looking)

Record Review by Kate Kowsh

Tristeza describe their music as experimental, psychedelic and indie, but that comes off as way too snotty for these guys.  In reality, their stuff is a lot more accessible than they make it out to be.  There are no secret handshakes required for entry into Tristeza’s latest release, A Colores—a wordless wonderland of sounds.

The group, who first got together in San Diego during the spring of 1997, tweaks and experiments with almost every musical element they can, playing with moods, tempos, synths and time.

The first track, “Bromas,” is like a spaceship ride through all the emotions attached to the human condition.  Full of synth outerspacy twinkles, and heavy on epic percussion, it could be placed on the soundtrack to any educational human anatomy video like, “The Miracle of Life.”

But make no mistake:  it’s not cheesy.  Tristeza take their time, helping each musical element stretch and stand alone to be recognized.  “Abrazo Distante” could be slipped in behind a sword swallower doing his sideshow act.  It utilizes distorted organ synths to create a mysterious air, while the bass lays a heavy fog.  Synth layers pile on to create a psychedelic labyrinth of its own kind of sound.  Later, it journeys on, finally looping into a downtempo beat.

The members of Tristeza ingrain richness into their music, making it capable of saying more than any lyric-addled set of tunes could.  A Colores has an intricate but easy vibe that’s great to throw on and chill to.