tassel
A Sacrifice: Unto Idols
self-released
If you’ve ever seen a picture of Arizona trio tassel, or glanced at the art and track titles for their preceding releases, you might be forgiven for assuming they were deathrockers or goth rock revivalists. And while you can certainly point to elements of those sounds on their debut LP A Sacrifice: Unto Idols, their sound is high-impact industrialized synthpunk, engineered for movement and with a healthy dose of atmosphere to contrast its strictly regimented rhythms.
It’s this last aspect of tassel’s sound that informs the record’s best songs; numbers like “Nativity” with the rusty processed and reconstituted guitars of Ashly X and growling synth bass feel dangerous because they have a relentless energy that belies their tightly quantized nature. A large part of this comes from the vocals of project mastermind YZBL, who affects a veiled menace in their delivery, forceful when whispered, controlled when shouted. It’s a grimly determined in a way that feels almost detached, if not impersonal, as on the Dive-esque “Testament” where they push their way through fields of distorted and delayed drum sounds and corroded bass, undeterred by the harsh surroundings.
For all the emphasis on crushing percussion (seriously, closer “Reproduction (In Any Form)” is basically a rhythmic noise track), there’s no shortage of ambience draped over the proceedings. “Original Sin”‘s wrenching, seasick guitar riffs fill the edges around the thudding kicks, a punky bit of texture that compliments YZBL as they bite words off and spit them out defiantly. Single “V. Crawling” benefits from the short blasts of static that roll off its snares and the phasing guitars, pulling the ear even as its main synth part rolls forward with increasing intensity. There’s a pleasantly no-frills approach to dressing these songs up from a recording standpoint that adds to their urgency; opting for a contained, claustrophobic production style directed by bassist May Winterhalt keeps the pressure up throughout.
The great strength of A Sacrifice: Unto Idols is its spirit of tenacity and its drive to keep moving. The struggle between religion, sexuality and self addressed in its lyrics is potent, but is delivered with a frankness that adds to the album’s already forceful disposition. Whatever demons are hounding them, tassel never feel anything less than willfull and ready to charge into whatever bleak territory lies ahead.
