Toundra – Hex – Album Review

1st February 2022 0 By George Simpson

I’ve got to admit that prior to taking this album for review I knew nothing whatsoever about Toundra. But what I know now is that they’re a Spanish four piece, instrumental post-rock band, and that Hex is a pretty good album. Instrumental rock is a genre was previously a genre I was never the biggest fan of. But albums like this are rapidly changing my mind.

Hex is their eighth studio album since forming in 2007. Like many bands the world over, they had their touring plans destroyed by the pandemic. So rather than touring their previous album, 2020’s Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari, they used the time for writing and recording new material. The result being this rather good seven track album. It’s an album best enjoyed in full, as it takes you for a ride through many different atmosphere’s and moods.

It begins with it’s centre piece, the majestic three part El Odio. A 22 minute tour de force that flies by in no time. Translated into English, it means Hatred, and the anger throughout it is never far away. One minute you think it’s settling down to take you into more mellower area, before coming thundering back. Part II is the heaviest as it were and it’s not until the latter half of part three that things begin to come down from this. As guitarist Esteban Giron points out, life is too short to be angry all the time, and the music echoes that sentiment.

Next up is the energetic Ruinas, Ruins in English. How often does a reviewer give you Spanish lessons as a bonus feature? You’re welcome. It’s a track built around a pulsating beat and melody. Whereas El Odio takes it’s time to get it’s message across, this one gets straight to the point. It almost has a punky feel such is the urgency with which the main riff is delivered. Great stuff.

One thing that is pleasing about this album, is that musicianship, and associated ego’s, take a back seat to the song. It would be so easy for this to become an endless series of bass or guitar noodling, but thankfully its not. It’s more riff driven and feels like a real band effort in it’s composition. As a result, that is it’s strength as it makes for a very cohesive body of work.

Following that energy and riffing, we get the more subtle La Larga Macha, The Long March. Rather than the power and bluster of the album so far, the music is far more restrained than before, strangely bringing to mind early noughties era Linkin Park with its mechanic, electronic feel.

Then we move onto Watt, a rack that moves beyond the guitar, bass and drums of the rest of the album with the use of saxophone to provide added colour and depth to their sound. Apparently this was the first song written together in a room for the album and it shows. The song once again is the sum of it’s parts rather than dominated by just one of them.

The album comes to a conclusion with FIN. After all the more riffing, energy and anger of the preceding six tracks, here things end of an atmospheric, dreamy note where the music has lots of room to breath. Listening to it on headphones is almost hypnotic such is it’s calming nature. Very reminiscent of Pink Floyd in that sense.

I mentioned at the start of this review that instrumental rock is a genre that is rapidly growing on me. If it’s new to you too, do yourself a favour and check this out, it’s a very enjoyable album. I’m glad I did, and will definitely be going back to listen to more of their back catalogue as a result.

Score: 8/10