ТЯГА - ТЯГА

 

 

ТЯГА - ТЯГА
Self-released - 2024
Stoner, Doom, Grunge, Gothic
Rated: ****

ТЯГА hail from Yekaterinburg, a Russian city just east of the Ural mountains. With its long and cold winters, it's not the first place you associate with the blistering heat of some tasty groove-driven music. Yet, that's exactly what they produce on their self-titled debut album. You need something to keep you warm, right? And warm it will keep you, even though the core is a fairly standard mix of doom and stoner with an occasional nod to grunge, like for example the feel and chord progression in the brooding '404'. What sets them apart from the pack is the overall atmosphere: the haunting melodies, the impeccable execution and (especially) singer Jackie.

When you isolate her clear voice (with an at times slightly ragged edge) from the rest, it immediately becomes clear how seemingly effortless she transitions from the lower to the higher registers and back. She could make every generic alternative pop song sound cool and would also fit nicely in a gothic metal band. And although normally these kind of vocals wouldn't be the best fit for a band like ТЯГА, it works like a charm here, mainly because they made the bold decision to sing in their native Russian language. It's somewhat rougher sounding than English and that seems to be the missing piece to the puzzle. Heck, it even becomes mesmerizing - these angelic vocals that sometimes seem to battle the heavy, distorted, low-end rumble, while at other times they end up in a symbiotic marriage. Great examples of that duality can be found throughout the whole album but are most present in the final two songs 'Утроба' and 'Оазис'. Like ТЯГА are taking the audience on a sonic road trip where they slowly introduce them to their unique sound while gradually dragging their travel companions deeper and deeper into the experience to finally leave a lasting impression. It's a perfect example of how craftsmanship, confidence and determination can make a potentially run of the mill album a great one.

(Written by Ronny Dijksterhuis)

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