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Tunic Premiere “Dry Heave” Video from Debut Album Complexion out Feb. 8

Posted in Bootleg Theater on January 29th, 2019 by JJ Koczan

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Press (or click, as it were) play on Tunic‘s debut album, Complexion, and the assault is immediate. The Winnipeg three-piece of guitarist/vocalist David Schellenberg, bassist Rory Ellis and drummer Sam Neal (since replaced by Dan Unger) open the 11-track Self Sabotage Records offering with “Nothing Nothing,” and the will to pummel is right there, right up front, and no less visceral than the shouts that top the tense and angular riffs. Shades of post-hardcore and noise rock come together in the spirit of cooperative aggression, and the clenched-fist, gritted-teeth riotousness only abates after the initial salvo of “Nothing Nothing,” “Envious,” “Getting Sick” and “Evan” leads to “Sand,” which even though it’s 56 seconds of feedback, still feels like a respite by the time it arrives. Punch punch punch, kick kick kick, ouch ouch ouch.

“Dry Heave,” for which the band has a new video premiering below, is the centerpiece of this quick-moving monument to disaffection, and at 3:06, it’s also the longest song on Complexion. They use that “extra” time relative to most of the other tracks in order to tunic complexionopen up the proceedings of the verse a bit and let the drums hold the tension along with the bass as the guitar comes and goes. II don’t know if the vocals there have extra bite or not, but the fact that they’re not coinciding with a rush of guitar certainly makes it seem that way, and the finish — especially with the striking image of the three of them ducking under water — feels particularly troubled, whether or not it may have been meant to convey the sensation of dry heaving. Side B picks up with “Blessed,” which kicks the guitar into emergency-mode quickly, and resumes the cacophonous spirit into the sharp corners of “Empty Hands” (second longest at 3:02), which slows down somewhat but builds to a violent wash of crash at its finish. After the interlude “Paper,” the closing duo of “Pores” — which, of course, includes some guest sax — and “Frontal Lobe” round out with a reaffirmation of the prior intensity and the skillful control with which it’s been wielded all along.

While Neal double-times the hi-hat, Schellenberg spaces out the guitar a bit at the end, but of course by then Complexion‘s foremost impression is set in the scathe elicited earlier. There’s method behind it, though, and wherever it might reside in terms of genre, the passionate underpinning in the record makes Tunic‘s intention toward catharsis plain to hear. You might get out of breath, and it might be because you’re trying to keep up, but even if they run circles around you, understand that there’s a reason they’re doing so.

European tour dates have been announced and can be see in the poster under video player below, as well as a couple Midwestern US shows listed. Album is out Feb. 8, and you can read more about it in the PR wire info that follows.

Enjoy “Dry Heave”:

Tunic, “Dry Heave” official video premiere

Tunic is born of spite. After years of touring someone else’s bass lines across the globe, David Schellenberg was told he wasn’t good enough. So he did the only logical thing: buy a guitar, quit your long-time band, and abandon everything you think you know about music. Armed with no skill and a blissfully ignorant embrace of discordant noise, Schellenberg started crafting songs, quickly enlisting childhood acquaintance Sam Neal on drums and roommate Rory Ellis on bass.

Over the past 4 years and half a dozen d.i.y. releases, tunic has managed to unleash and tame their unique blend of noise rock and hardcore. Relentless touring has taken them across Canada, Europe and the States, filling clubs, basements, and abandoned prisons with noise. The band released the single “Teeth Showing” on Toronto’s Buzz Records in 2018, which they toured with new drummer Dan Unger.

Tunic’s debut album “Complexion” was recorded in six days in their hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba with Montreal-based engineer and producer Jace Lasek (Suuns, Land of Talk, Wolf Parade). Complexion picks up where previous releases left off; 11 songs of feedback-laden filth laid over churning blows of drum and bass. Harsh verses about hurting those you never meant to hurt; choruses that sever ties where you never thought you had to. This is unconventional hardcore. This is broken indie rock. This is naïve art.

Tunic live:
Feb 1, 2019 – The Handsome Daughter, Winnipeg, MB, CAN
Feb 11, 2019 – Magasin 4, Brussels BE
Feb 13, 2019 – Le Cirque Electrique, Paris FR
Feb 14, 2019 – Raymond Bar, Clermont Ferrand, FR
Feb 15, 2019 – Le Farmer, Lyon, FR
Feb 16, 2019 – Joe Koala, Bergamo, ITA
Feb 18, 2019 – Freakout, Bologna, ITA
Feb 19, 2019 – Osteria Al Castello, Chiuppano, ITA
Feb 20, 2019 – Magazzino Paralello, Cesena, ITA
Feb 21, 2019 – Eterotopia, San Giuliano Milanese, ITA
Feb 22, 2019 – G.O.B., Viareggio, ITA
Feb 24, 2019 – 100-as Klub, Budapest, HU
Feb 25, 2019 – Dvorana Gustaf, Maribor, SLO
Feb 26, 2019 – Fluc, Vienna, AU
Feb 27, 2019 – Eternia, Prague, CZ
Feb 28, 2019 – Bajkazyl Brno, Brno, CZ
Mar 01, 2019 – Ann and Pet, Linz, AU
Mar 02, 2019 – Alte Hyovereinsbank, Oettingen, DE
Mar 03, 2019 – Secret show, Sulzbach-Rosenberg, DE
Mar 04, 2019 – Dynamo, Zurich, CH
Mar 07, 2019 – Capri Bar, Breman, DE
Mar 09, 2019 – Le Petit Bitu, Namur, BE
Mar 13, 2019 – SXSW, Austin, TX
Mar 14, 2019 – SXSW, Austin, TX
Mar 15, 2019 – SXSW, Austin, TX
Mar 16, 2019 – SXSW, Austin, TX
April 16, 2019 – 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis, MN*
April 17, 2019 – Vaudeville Mews, Des Moines, IA*
April 18, 2019 – Gabe’s, Iowa City, IA*
April 19, 2019 – Art-in, Madison, WI*
April 20, 2019 – X-Ray Arcade, Milwaukee, WI*
* w/ Blessed

tunic on this record is:
Rory Ellis
Sam Neal
David Schellenberg

Tunic on Thee Facebooks

Tunic on Instagram

Tunic website

Self Sabotage Records on Bandcamp

Self Sabotage Records website

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