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Tartufi, "Trouble"
On this four song EP, Tartufi finds a safe formula and sticks to it. Unfortunately, the formula only succeeds on the first song and makes clutter of the others. "Midnight Tracks" has it all—the back and forth fuzzed guitar interplay, the dual vocals, and the multiple changes in direction. The song is performed well, though it’s somewhat standard fare. Those that follow are essentially more of the same.
Acuarela
Almost every track on this EP runs at least five minutes yet never manages to say much. Not that the group isn’t trying. "Slow Man" spends the first two minutes building up to a climax that stops shy of its mark and doesn’t quite satisfy. "Ashes" ends with a meandering jam that dilutes the impact of the rest of the song. The best parts of every song are the instrumental sections. Not that the vocals are bad, but they’re not a highlight, either. Gruzden and Angel’s voices harmonize well but they don’t venture outside of their limited comfort zone. The melodies themselves aren’t particularly memorable, nor are the lyrics. In fact, the middle two songs have such similar arrangements that they are difficult to tell apart. Rather than exploring different ways of singing or different styles of playing guitar, the band simply adds sections onto the end of each song to cumbersome effect. They seem uncertain as to what they want to say or how they want to say it, using addition when subtraction might best reveal their intentions.
 
Maybe live these songs feel more inspired, but recorded, the band’s calculations are their undoing.
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