Don’t let the superficially simplistic sound of their previous two albums fool you; the Portland-based duo Talkdemonic have presumably been spending the last three years pondering ideas and gearing up (literally, gathering their numerous instruments) for Ruins, which, despite the curious absence of Tatsuya Yoshida, promises to be a noticeable departure in sound.
Whereas Beat Romantic (TMT Review) and Eyes at Half Mast (TMT Review) both demonstrated a relatively straightforward amalgam of alternating drums, banjo, guitar, viola, piano, and miscellaneous electronics, Kevin O’Connor remarked in an interview with Willamette Week that he “…wanted to make a concerted effort to really change things up. This time around, that started to happen. There’s a lot more synths. A lot less of the folk aspect in the music. It’s abrasive at times. Intense.” Talkdemonic… abrasive and intense? Consider my curiosity piqued.
The change in style might have something to do with the fact that this is their first album as amicable signatories to Isaac Brock’s Glacial Pace Recordings. Likewise, they recently toured with Modest Mouse, and as Willamette Week reports, Brock even took on some of the mixing duties on their upcoming record, which comes out October 4. Certainly, as O’Connor seems apt to recognize, a change was all but necessary given the (at times) indistinguishable musical similarities of their last two LPs. “We’re really happy with it,” says O’Connor. “We really don’t know if people are going to like it or not but that’s really exciting too.”
Ruins tracklisting:
01. Slumber Verses
02. Ruins
03. Revival
04. Midcentury Motion
05. City Sleep
06. Violet
07. Summer Glass
08. Cascading
09. Time Draws On
10. Midnight Pass
11. Chimera
12. Palace Walk
Tourdates:
08.28.11 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
08.29.11 - Denver, CO - Moe’s
08.31.11 - Tucson, AZ - Club Congress *
09.01.11 - San Diego, CA - The Casbah *
09.02.11 - Los Angeles, CA - Echo Plex *
09.03.11 - San Francisco, CA - Slim’s *
09.04.11 - Sacramento, CA - Town House Lounge *
09.07.11 - Boise, ID - Neurolux *
09.08.11 - Portland, OR - Branx (Musicfest NW show) *
09.09.11 - Victoria, BC - Club 9one9 *
09.10.11 - Seattle, WA - Neumo’s *
* Handsome Furs and Sunns
• Talkdemonic: http://www.talkdemonic.com
• Glacial Pace: http://www.glacialpace.com
