Tetrao Urogallus
Color Red, 2022
8/10
A Hamburg, Germany based trio with a penchant for abrasive yet inviting ideas that touch on doom and funk moments, Tetrao Urogallus use Latin terms for their songs that make great use of saxophone and trumpet, too.
“Barbarea Vulgaris” opens the listen with dense and pounding instrumentation that resides somewhere between proto-metal and psyche-rock with its mysterious and thick waves, and “Tetrao Urogallus” follows with a buzzing intensity that welcomes brass into the diverse landscape.
“Barbarea Vulgaris Recapitulat” arrives at the halfway point and moves with a swift, prog-rock friendly delivery that radiates meticulous and firm instrumentation, while “Euphorbia Helioscopia” benefits much from spirited organ and soulful brass for the fusion filled album highlight.
Landing near the end, “Picea Orientalis” offers a slow, meditative moment of gentle buzzing in a nearly sci-fi sort of way, and “Vipera Berus” exits the listen with hypnotic bass lines that make for a dreamy yet haunting finish.
Sometimes gloomy, always unpredictable and with a mystical backdrop, this is a very unique debut album from Tetrao Urogallus, and hopefully the first of many to come.
Travels well with: Brownout- Berlin Sessions; Cosse- Nothing Belongs To Anything