S.D. Makes National Sine Waves

Source: SLAMM Magazine
Date: Januray 30th, 2002
Author: ??

Tristeza - Mixed Signals (Tiger Style)
5/10 Stars

Goes well with: Plastikman, Pan Sonic, Windy and Carl

Nowadays, every tattooed hardcore kid's 4-tracking their soft center. But with last year's lovely Dream Signals in Full Circles San Diego's Tristeza proved that they've got genuine Gastr in their Sols. Now comes Mixed Signals, 11 interpretations of Dream's dreams by their brainy electronic pals.

Bundling the 1s and 0s are no-namers, soon-to-be'ers, and a couple of marquee knobs like ex-Cocteau Twin Simon Raymonde (a bland treatment of "Are We People") and Windy and Carl (a majestic rendering of "Optiate Shade"). Local boy The Snodgrass and ex-local Diagram of Suburban Chaos also interpret with aplomb.

Most remixes start with a snippet from the original, then roll in the electronic fog. Really, Tristeza's "post rock" is classical and linear; their power comes from the music's muscle melting, deply meditative progression. When you remix it, no matter how irregular the beats or odd the squiggles or narcocentric the synth space-outs... deleting the crescendos unplugs the music's heart valves.

It's compelling for fans. But the electro-journeys don't stand alone, and Tristeza's pulse is barely audible beneath the remixers' liberal contextualizing. Luckily, a new EP and LP are due this year. Godspeed you calm hipsters.

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