{"id":11411,"date":"2019-05-13T17:25:49","date_gmt":"2019-05-13T22:25:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/?p=11411"},"modified":"2026-05-06T15:19:02","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T20:19:02","slug":"album-review-tunic-complexion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/2019\/05\/13\/album-review-tunic-complexion\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review :: Tunic :: Complexion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tunic.jpg?fit=525%2C525&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11412\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tunic.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tunic-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tunic-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tunic-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tunic-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tunic-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong>by Daniel Kussy<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Complexion<\/em> is the long awaited debut LP by Winnipeg noise-punk trio Tunic. Released as the product of a group who built their sound over the last 5 years across multiple single\/EP releases, <em>Complexion<\/em> creates a polarizing, heart-racing sound that treads a new path in the world of punk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>The first moments of \u201cNothing Nothing\u201d has all engines firing, a barrage of noise that sets the tone for <em>Complexion<\/em>. \u00a0To say this album is intense in an understatement. David Schellenberg\u2019s \u00a0anguished voice shrieks just as loud as his guitar, while Rory Ellis\u2019 throbbing bass provides a lot of the melody on the album, especially on tracks like \u201cEvan\u201d and \u201cDry Heave\u201d. Schellenberg\u2019s guitar playing provides textural space for the bass along with Sam Neal\u2019s manic drumming by way of never-ending feedback and atonal texture, which creates a sound that feels claustrophobic and pressured. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My favourite moment on this record comes on the track \u201cPores,\u201d when a stress-inducing saxophone (performed by Eric Roberts) appears in a frantic bridge only for everything to be stripped to the drums for a brief moment before an explosive climax ties everything together.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Complexion<\/em> is consistent. If not in pace, then for its tense nature. Even its quieter moments, tracks like \u201cSand\u201d and \u201cPaper,\u201d don\u2019t leave much in terms of peace and calming thanks in part to the eerie feedback that bleeds through these tracks, and much like the rest of the tracks on this album, these moments don\u2019t last long. Through 11 tracks, <em>Complexion<\/em> runs about 22 minutes, which comes as no surprise for a group known for having very short performances.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tunic has always been about quality-over-quantity in relation to playing music as opposed to releasing it. Their presence as a band, yet so sporadic, is strongly felt in their hometown and wherever they perform. Just as <em>Complexion<\/em> is an album that seems very short but is brimming with energy and inspiration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For fans of: METZ, Pissed Jeans, KEN Mode, Dan Unger<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Recommended if you like Winnipeg\u2019s Arena is on Fire on CKUW 95.9 FM<\/em><br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Daniel Kussy Complexion is the long awaited debut LP by Winnipeg noise-punk trio Tunic. Released as the product of a group who built their sound over the last 5 years across multiple single\/EP releases, Complexion creates a polarizing, heart-racing sound that treads a new path in the world of punk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11411"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11413,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11411\/revisions\/11413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}