by Álvaro Molina (@alvaromolinare)
Fury, alienation and anxiety are key emotions in the punk and post-hardcore canon. For Winnipeg-based noise trio Tunic, those feelings are not just essential, they drive them. Add the cold darkness of their hometown and you get straightforward, angst-ridden and feedback-laden chaos.
On Exhaling, Tunic delivers a massive set of 23 songs injected with visceral themes. It’s almost an hour in which David Schellenberg (guitar, vocals) roars and snarls lyrics of coping with stress and the vexed duality of oneself. Things get disturbingly relatable when he growls “Constantly rationalizing/How we feel and now you’ve made your call/To be an expat of all this/We were weak/And now we’re out of focus” on “Blessed,” a harrowing noise scorcher.
Throughout the record, Schellenberg’s cathartic honesty is layered by distress. Overt references to toxic relationships stain the poetic nature of human binds on tracks like “Hesitant Gesture” or “Boss”. Self-loathing feelings kick in hard on “Envious,” in which the emo heritage of boisterous bands like One Last Wish and Drive Like Jehu appears as a nerve-racking reminder of human failure.
As all these uncomfortable – yet substantial – themes are developed on Exhaling, the music gets even more dense. The art punk aesthetic is gut wrenching. Rory Ellis (bass) and Dan Unger‘s (drums) stomping rhythms and ear-piercing smacks create an atmosphere that soars the oppressive nature of the record. “Dry Heave” brings back the heavy sounds of noise and post-hardcore legends The Jesus Lizard with its melodic, brawny and distorted bass lines.
Released via Toronto-based eclectic label Artoffact Records, Exhaling is as intense as the emotions it envisions. Combining independently released EPs and split singles, Tunic have finally come up with a personal and undisguised LP that leaves you scarred with its ferocious sound. Although bleak in nature, the record stands as a fresh and impassioned attempt to portrait contemporary alienations. Its ritualistic mood will exhale and purge most of your anxieties.