Tamaryn

San Francisco's Tamaryn played an intense set at the small room of the legendary Paradiso, in Amsterdam....
Tamaryn

Tamaryn

Rex John ShelvertonAs QRO Mag colleague Ian Pickles pointed out in his Peter Hook review of late January, the era of records as a whole came to an end time ago.  But we both agree that it’s a bit hard to get to know a band just for one song.  One single song can spark interest, but to fully understand what goes on in the mind of a musician, it’s inevitable to immerse yourself in the music.

San Francisco’s Tamaryn were one of the most interesting bands yours truly watched at the 2010 Primavera Club Festival in Barcelona (QRO recap)Jeremy Bringetto and after an accomplished and dense first record, they’re immersed in the European promotional tour of their recent work Tender New Signs, a record that if the writer of this had to define in a few words those would be, “While in the first record, the band seem to be at the edge of a cliff, admiring an expansive view, in the second they seem to have thought ‘it’s nice here but what if we go somewhere else and discover a new perspective of the same view?’.”

This surreal last sentence doesn’t mean Tamaryn are repeating themselves but that they have changed enough things to make a different album but they have kept enough details so their fans can recognise their savoir-fair.

The quartet, with new bassist Jeremy Bringetto, played an intense set at the small room of the legendary Paradiso, in Amsterdam on Monday, February 4th.  They started with “Mild Confusion” one of the densest tracks of their first record The WavesTamaryn Other songs of that first work included “Haze Interior” and the title track, but most of the concert was focused, of course, on Tender New Signs, so pieces like “While You’re Sleeping, I’m Dreaming” with its repressed anger, “Heavenly Bodies” with an optimistic vibe and a bit faster than usual, “Afterlight” with a very beautiful and catchy guitar riff or “I’m gone”, a tune that shows the band is ready to go forward and showing they are mastering the art of creating sound and ambients, were some of the highlights of the 80-minute gig, a concert they faced without a soundcheck, but that didn’t affect their sound or their enthusiasm.

The result was evident: a fluctuation of light and shade, slow tunes and upbeat melodies, their solid sense of pop and their electrifying side, the vulnerability and hope in their lyrics.  All in all, their trademark elements but with a fresh and renovated perspective.

A must-see act live.

Rex John Shelverton

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Concert Reviews
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