Tournament - Years Old
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Tournament successfully marries the slow burn of Houdini-era Melvins with the swing of Drive Like Jehu. The band imbues its material with a seething, rumbling tone. As on debut EP Swordswallower, the songs drip noise, with shrieking guitars and cacophonous vocals. Now they’re slower and even dirtier.
The production on Years Old (Forcefield, 2009) pushes levels far into the red, so much that the album feels coated in a grainy sheen. This harms the music somewhat, with blurry guitars, muddied drums, and buried vocals. Yet questionable production doesn’t obviate the power of these songs. The band members are more than capable musicians, handling diverging tempos and rhythms with ease. “Smokelore” sounds like Young Widows, with a slightly delayed guitar line over throbbing bass and a skull-smashing pace. It’s squalid, surly, and shifts between upbeat and droning tempos.
Tournament’s secret weapon is bassist Ryan Kelly. His forceful performances form the backbone to most of the songs. He meshes brilliantly with drummer Jordan Lovelace to erect a towering wall upon which guitarists Montana Masback and Sean Kraft paint aural screeds. These guys seamlessly sew their influences together to create something novel. Now if they could just work on those nondescript vocals, Tournament would really be onto something.
Buy:
Forcefield (CD)
Forcefield (LP)
