What makes the self-titled, self-released debut EP from Oulu instrumental four-piece Renate/Cordate intriguing isn’t so much that it’s breaking new ground nearly as much as it’s setting up a fluidity between several familiar styles. The four-song, 28-minute release follows a 2010 demo from the Finnish group, and finds them fleshing out flowing heavy psychedelia that can alternately be traced back to instrumentalists like Pelican, earlier Red Sparowes and Russian Circles, with rougher traces of heavy psychedelia à la My Sleeping Karma or even elements at work from Isis-style post metal, but it’s all very well balanced so that Renate/Cordate don’t seem overly adherent to one school of method or another. I wouldn’t call Renate/Cordate revolutionary, but it’s clear the band — bassist Aki, guitarists Ville and Samuli (who’s also credited with vocals, though I’ve heard none on the release) and drummer Antti-Pekka — are in the process of establishing an individual style for themselves, and that comes across in both the hypnotic droning moments of third cut “Conjuring Power” or the post-metal ambience in the midsection of “Calumet.” The results are noble in kind to the mission, and though it’s short, I’m more inclined to think of Renate/Cordate as a full-length, both for the flow it demonstrates between its tracks and for the subtle stylistic turns that each piece represents. In fact, I’d gladly argue that Renate/Cordate makes a better album than an EP, because where an EP is generally geared toward giving a band rein to make an initial statement, feel out a shift in aesthetic or provide listeners with a sample of what they do, Renate/Cordate feels complete in its ideas and gives a much richer impression than a phrase like “self-titled, self-released debut EP” used above might imply. Ultimately, it’s a minute distinction between one or the other in terms of how you actually listen to the release, but hopefully it gives some impression of the overarching effectiveness the band displays in terms of feeding one song into the next and tying the whole work together as one cohesive expression.

Perhaps as one might expect, repetition and tonal weight are go-to elements of Renate/Cordate‘s approach. Riffs get pretty big when the band wants them to, but it’s important to remember that it’s the dynamic and the smoothness which with Renate/Cordate turn from loud to quiet and execute their builds that stands the EP out among its many peers working under similar influence. Beginning with “The Climb,” they commence a patient groove as a bed for the aptly-named progression that ensues. Aki‘s bass is an immediate standout factor, rich and warm in its tone, and Antti-Pekka‘s subdued ride work keeps a sense of movement to the quiet initial moment while the guitars slowly come more and more to prominence. A stop at 2:30 drops out everything but the bass, and an effects whistle after three minutes in hints at the impact to come — almost like a bomb dropping. The build-up happens in tense measures from there and at 4:48, the track explodes to its apex, hitting a peak that rounds out in chugging, churning riffs marked out by a wash of cymbals and an ever-faster pulse that continues to rise — or climb, as it were — until there’s about 20 seconds left in the seven-minute piece and it finally, inevitably must subside, feedback leading straight into “Calumet,” the march of which is more immediate in its motion. In the background, a subtle swirl plays out behind to add heavy psychedelic flourish to layered wah guitar. Another, less telegraphed, full-toned heavy section takes hold after roughly a minute and a half — all the tracks hover on either side of seven minutes long — and breaks gradually to atmospheric jamming. Here too, it’s not like the band has stopped, but as the rhythm section holds together and develops the relatively straightforward line that acted as the center of the song since its start, both Ville and Samuli are given room to play out in serene, proggy explorations. It becomes hypnotic quickly, and is the kind of thing Ufomammut might counter with a grand cosmic bludgeoning. Renate/Cordate don’t get quite that far, but a quick switch to heavier lines gives breadth to the listening experience and highlights the fact that just because they can be patient doesn’t mean they always will.

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