Review Summary: May I propose a question?
So what is Torngat? An odd question perhaps, and one will find after listening to the band’s latest You Could Be, that it is also a rather perplexing one. The dictionary gave me a reference to the Torngat Mountain range, located in Quebec. Quebec just so happens to be the birthplace of the trio of musicians known collectively as Torngat. The trio consists of Pietro Amato, Mathieu Charbonneau and Julien Poissant. Alas, this does not fully answer our question. What Torngat is, or rather, what genre I should unfairly label them as; remains the hardest question for me to answer in this review. A minuscule fact one might think, however it still remains an essential aid in describing the band to those readers unfamiliar. Influences from jazz abound, but the lack of improvisation and soloing work against the jazz label. The band could be attributed to a more pastoral post-rock, along the lines of say Tortoise. However the music is far too busy and, for lack of a better term, fun. Some of the strange effects and instrumentation beckon a faint recollection of carnival themes, or some of Tom Waits’ more instrumentally orientated experimental pieces. In essence, describing both what it is and what it isn’t, we have managed to bring about a fairly workable genre (err, sub-genre) label. Yes; Torngat has a pastoral-post-rock-jazz-carnival vibe.
One of the most notable aspects of Torngat’s music, is how large scale it sounds without really ever being large scale at all. Let me explain; if one were to not know that the band is in fact a trio, one might suspect upwards of six or seven members at times. Watching the band live reveals how the talented musicians are able to do this. At times in the set, the band members may be playing upwards of three instruments simultaneously. For example: in one song, french horn player Pietro Amato could be playing his french horn through an effects pedal whilst producing poly-rhythms on a xylophone. A fairly difficult task, one which shows the quality of musicianship in the group. Suite c) L’Ocean, La Nuit is a perfect example of Torngat’s big sound. The lively rock beat and crescendoing french horn are the only real example of the contemporary view of post-rock found in the album. This ultimately makes Suite c) one of the stand out tracks on the album. Whereas at points in the album the music sometimes tends to drift off into a melting bowl of keyboards and effects, this track is more forceful and memorable. To balance off the “melting bowl” of keyboards and effects, Torngat do produce very interesting instrumentation.
Kitchen sink orchestra is perhaps a little demeaning for the group. BBQ grill orchestra? I suppose the comment is just seeing as the band actually do play a bbq grill in Gemini One. As odd as that sounds, the old beef burner actually sounds really cool in the song. The barbeque part consists of a drum stick being raked across the grill followed by a rhythm made with wire brushes against the grill. This little element is a prime example of how innovative Torngat can be at times. Through all the harpsichords (clean and distorted), open Rhodes, wurlitzers, cabasa’s and the like, the main instruments remain the keyboards, french horn and drums. The keyboards are what give Torngat both the jazz and carnival feel. Opener You Could Be is an example of the jazz influence as the complex opening melody falls on beats two and four. The melody is also one of the best keyboard parts on the album full of interesting parts. Suite a) Steps to a Lively Dance has a carnival waltz feel to it. It’s happy and fun, but at times I feel that this part of the keyboards drags the album down a bit. The jazzier sections are far more interesting to listen to and make up the more interesting songs. The french horn comprises more of an auxiliary role creating harmony and counterpoint to the keyboards. Though at times, such as the majestical horn line in Celebrating New, the audience is shown that Pietro Amato is not shy to the spotlight. The drumming from Julien Poissant is solid throughout the various shifting rhythms and odd time signatures. Mouton Noir, with its driving rock beats and fills shows one of the few times his drumming, like the horn in Celebrating New, comes to the forefront. The musicianship is solid throughout the album.
The only major drawback to this album is its tendency to fall into blandness. Tracks like Many faces, Many places and Hammond Song: Being a Torngat do nothing for the album. They float around for awhile, sound pretty at times, but ultimately add nothing the experience. It is when Torngat fall into this “ambient” state that they falter. When they stick to their core sound, they end up much better off. Since the majority of the album does stay with their core sound, it has to be said that You Could Be is overall a success. The music is fairly chilled out, with hints of more aggressiveness sprinkled throughout (though, don’t think of it as Red Sparowes type of aggressiveness, it’s merely a comparative term.) Thus we are brought back to our original query: what is Torngat? Answer: it’s pretty cool.
-Keelan
