Music
06 Jun 02

Splendid Animation

There are phases contained within each of these 11 tracks which are vibrant and memorable, but there are just as many more which come across as floaty and bland

Tetra Splendour specialise in inventively soupy sounds. On their debut album, Splendid Animation, the Welsh band mix psychedelic keyboards with funky acoustic grooves, shouty vocals, digital wizardry and Radioheadesque walls of electric guitar.

The overall effect is pleasant, but too often incoherent. The band rarely put their weight behind any one hook, instead choosing to run riot through different keys, rhythms and styles – all within the space of one song. There are phases contained within each of these 11 tracks which are vibrant and memorable, but there are just as many more which come across as floaty and bland.

Although first single ‘Pollenfever’ promises more than it delivers, there is a light touch to the arrangements which impresses. The sedately-paced ‘Muriel’s Motorhome’ and the uplifting ‘Mr. Bishi’ also possess a kind of skewed, scattershot charm – the former featuring the neat lyric, “She’s got her life on backwards”.

All in all, a promising debut.