Review

Trystero

Sfumare E Vedere

Knekelhuis • 2024

Alternative duo Trystero release their debut album on Amsterdam label Knekelhuis, producing a record full of grungy grooves that channel the 80s new wave and post-punk eras. Featuring producer Thomas Lea Clarke (MR TC), and frontman Low Bat, »Sfumare E Vedere« was created in three days aboard a 1960s barge based near Paris, creating a vibe that has inspired both to unashamedly explore the experimental on this album. Low Bat’s vocals flow between Italian and English throughout, reciting in a poetic style that feels like they’re being distorted through radio signals coming from outer space.

The trippy ‘Suburra’ has an ominous, snarling atmosphere to it, where Low Bat cuts through the pounding drum break, pushing the guitars to slosh around in overdrive and shudder through your head. The dance energy of that track is matched on ‘Rock dei Pelicani (con Alexia)’, whilst the tension builds on ‘La Lingua Rosso’ with a wobbly bass undercurrent offering a sleezy sound similar to Baxter Dury.

On ‘Ritmo Dell’ellica (con Rita)’, the clarity of the bass and ride cymbal contrasts nicely to the acidy production that filters through towards the end. The softer side of shoegaze comes in on ‘Trent’anni (con Alexia)’ for a dreamy chug, and the psychedelic haze of ‘La Vostra Autonomia’ is a nice departure to mellow out to. Trystero bring together krautrock, acid, shoegaze, and electronica into the new wave realm on »Sfumare E Vedere«, producing an eclectic and abstract collection of lo-slung groovers.