Tintoretto - s/t (Expert Work Records)

For those lucky enough to see these guys when they were around, this album was a highly anticipated treat. The original recordings certainly weren’t lacking, but given the opportunity to re-record their entire catalog, Tintoretto were generous enough to give it their all. And as a result, these eight songs have never sounded better.

As far as 4-piece bands go, it’s hard to find a better example of a collective functioning as a cohesive unit; each individual playing the perfect part to execute a stunning and ambitious vision, not a single note out of place and devoid of extraneous wanking or cliche. This is a rock band. And these songs are important.

To say that this music is “moody” might be an understatement. Nearly every song is filled with tension and release, melody and dissonance, head-bobbing grooves and head-scratching mathy bits. Even though Mike Batzler and William Zientara are the only two band members singing, the voices of all four members are omnipresent. The chattering snare of Shane Hochstetler is reminiscent of legends like Art Blakey and Ginger Baker, and the unrelenting bass lines from Bill Kutsch beautifully tie together Hochstetler’s pounding bass drum to the wailing guitars of Batzler and Zientara.

One of the keys to this album sounding so incredible is Tintoretto’s drummer being the owner and operator of one of the top recording studios in the midwest (Milwaukee’s Howl Street Recordings). The album was also mastered in the midwest by Chicago’s Carl Saff and released by Columbia, MO label Expert Work Records. And it sounds best at an unreasonably high volume. Your neighbors will love it. 

Recommended for fans of: Shellac, Hoover, June of 44, Slint, Crownhate Ruin, Gauge, Cap’n Jazz, Lincoln.