TAC Splintered CD black forest/black sea avant-folk-pop

This is the 12th release from the Italian trio of Monica Serra (vocals and electronics), Simon Balestrazzi (electronics, guitar, and psaltery) and Corrado Loi (bass, guitar, electronics). Apparently this outfit has been around since 1982, but Splintered is our introduction to their avant-pop / weird/avant-folk take on Projekt Records -style darkwave/goth pop (or vice versa) fused with clattery free improv, nervous, minimalist drum & bass and IDM , and neo-psychedelia. On paper, that sort of sounds like a trainwreck, but we totally fell in love with this album the first time we played it. I don't think the "folktronica" label is really appropriate for T.A.C., it's so much weirder and creepy and simultaneously ancient/futuristic sounding than that tag would suggest. On some of these tracks, peculiar, polyrhythmic glitchy-yet-tribalesque IDM pops and clicks and electronic drones serve as the foundation for that dreamy, eerie, vaguely "gothy" pop, which reminds me of VOLTAIRE or something along those lines, but with an odd, witchy folk element... elsewhere the trio engages in a sort of THUJA-meets-AMM free improvisation with skittery violins and percussion and strings, and eldritch folk reminiscent of Comus or Black Forest/Black Sea surrounded by creepy whispers and muttering. So weird and ghostly, but surprisingly accessible and catchy. Comes packaged in an austere white digipack with cool abstract, fractalized art on the inside and back. Another great avant-pop release from Small Voices.

REVIEW FROM OUTSOUNDZ: Less than a year has passed since the release of "Twilight Ritual" and T.A.C. are back with a new full length album, maybe the bands most accessible effort to date. But don't expect a pop oriented sell out... Instead be prepared to fall inside T.A.C.'s kaleidoscope once again. And again... While supposed to slow down their recording activity for a while, during the summer of 2003 the band undertook a series of free form improvisational sessions that in a very short time brought to a bunch of fully produced new compositions their twelfth release actually. T.A.C. sonic trip goes on through unexplored territories, forcing the borders between electronica and new psychedelic soundscapes, making room for gentle ballads merciless deconstructed. Enter now T.A.C.'s surreal and swirling world. The tribernetic shamans are back.

REVIEW FROM STATIC: 3rd album by T.A.C. for the Italy-based Small Voices label, and the 12th by the group!!! Well, the album starts on a kick-ass note: an industrialized riff with a bit of dub influence, topped with an acoustic and vocal part which will please fans of artists such as some on the Projekt label. And then the music moves towards more electronic realms, almost idm, and turns into a wicked neo-classical extravaganza, followed by strong synthetic patterns. Of all the more recent releases by T.A.C., this one is probably the most nervous, with a marked acceleration and exacerbation of the emotions in the composition. The celestial harmonies sometimes vanish to leave room for experimentations that are always structured and never redundant, with a psychedelic spirit of course. Where will T.A.C. take us next? A delight.

REVIEW FROM G_AGE: Even though this is the first piece of work by T.A.C. (short for Tomografia Assiale Computerizzata) known to me, this Italian band has been releasing music since 1982. According to the info from the label this is one of the more accessible outputs of them, still it's not very likely that T.A.C.'s tribernetic shamans will appear in the hit parades any time soon given the avantgardistic nature of their music. Monica Serra (vocals), former Kirlian Camera member Simon Balestrazzi (electronics, guitar, psaltery) and Corroda Loi (bass, guitar, electronics) have been supported on this recording by Alessia Manca (viola) and Luca Pischedda (cello). This cooperation resulted in 15 mysterious and psychedelic sounding pieces of music. This record came into being because of a series of free form improvisational sessions in the summer of 2003. The tracks vary from electronic with a post-EBM feel to more organic pieces that manage to crawl under your skin. Musical borders are explored and crossed on this longplayer... soundscapes, deconstructed ballads, triphop/IDM-elements and more can be discovered on Splintered. This fascinating record can be compared to a sonic reconnoitering expedition into a swirling, surreal world. T.A.C. is a very unique musical entity, nevertheless comparisons can be made. This cd reminded me of such diverse acts such as Master Slave Relationship and Björk, but also the music that the Dutch act Det Wiehl has created for the Shusaka Dormu Dance Theatre comes in mind. T.A.C. also reminds me a bit of the weird folk act Black Forest/Black Sea, but T.A.C. is much more electronic. Still the best thing to do when it comes to this release is to listen to it yourself, this is worth discovering.