Tonstartssbandht - Petunia

FARMING THE LAND, HIGH ON SHROOMS

Four years have passed since the brilliant, Heaven exodus of Sorcerer; Tonstartssbandht's best work. This, after a decade spent toying with sounds both unusual and recognizable. Psychedelic music tends to have that tendency, as familiarity's only a stone's throw away from eccentricities. We saw this on An When or Andy Boay's fathomless solo venture SO SO SO WE SEE. Always the bold and batty types, with the White brothers' age came responsibility and sophistication. Petunia, riding off the coattails of Sorcerer's get-up-and-go mildew repartee, evokes the same sense of aspirational desires. Rolling pastures, weightless harmonies, and in-tune, closed eyes improvisation prove, once again, how fruitful Tonstartssbandht's niche aesthetic truly is.

Matters begin with a low rumble. 'Pass Away' builds with efficient pace, like the inevitable rising of the sun. Animals stretch after restful slumbers, flowers bud to welcome photosynthesis, cars leisurely fill the motorways to proliferate life. Tonstartssbandht's newfound mixture of Neo-Psychedelia and Krautrock - borrowing only the momentum, leaving the density - feels effortlessly graceful. Like all those routines, happening day in and day out. 'Pass Away' is the best example of this, with its momentous rhythms and uplifting lyrics. It is a song, nay suite, to get lost in. The White brothers, in duet, conflate an enterprising spirit with drug-fueled apprehension: "Some folks are born who can taste the days / Me I can't wait to pass away." The contradiction invokes a sense of surrealism to an otherwise ambitious crusade of sound. 'Pass Away,' and nearly every song on Petunia, feels exhaustive. As if months were poured into each structural fluctuation, in spite of Tonstartssbandht's improvisational nature. The blurred mixture is really fascinating and done with such serene, tasteful elegance.

'Falloff' and 'Smilehenge,' both magical in their own rights, find applicable verbiage to 'Pass Away.' They're long, expeditious, mutable, and consummate. 'Hey Bad' and 'What Has Happened' offer distinction, despite maintaining the length. Each song approaches accessibility, more so than any Tonstartssbandht endeavor before. One stumbles while the other soars. On the former, the duo invoke the jaunty Pop Rock flair of The Beatles with a hint of Alt-Country. Until the end, a foundation never sets as acoustics trample over one another, further compounded by increasingly-fickle vocals that find discomfort in the volatility. It's a bit messy, something that shan't be said for 'What Has Happened.' On the second standout, a nocturnal groove immediately sets the tone. It is sparse, mathematical, and embraces Tonstartssbandht's outlook on outer space. However, 'What Has Happened' reaches a new plateau when the vocals arise. Sublime and sedated, their fragile croon ping-pongs off a flurry of growing multi-rhythms. It's a fascinating journey, and perhaps Tonstartssbandht's most impressive composition yet. No one can hate this.