Entertainment
(Independent)

Tetrix

5

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Breaking this album/video game/monstrosity into its constituent parts seemed to be the only way to adequately review it. Who needs style anyway?

Production: Oh dear God! Now, I'm in no way opposed to the DIY ethic, but this is ridiculous. It honestly sounds like four guys with instruments were dinking around in front of a computer and recorded their jam session on that sound recording program that comes with Windows.

Music: If you listen carefully, there is the odd moment of decent instrumental work on 5. Unfortunately, Tetrix fills every single second of each damn song with a static fuzz. Combine this with the already fuzzy production and all you get is pure suck.

Vocals: Why?

Video game: Adding a video game to an album where members of the band fight each other in NES style graphics is a pretty cool idea. However, making that very same game one that cannot be beaten in less than five minutes by repeatedly tapping the space bar would be an entirely cooler idea.

Positive Elements: The best attribute this album possesses is that it makes already good music seem even better. I once slipped My Morning Jacket's It Still Moves into my stereo after listening to Tetrix and the feeling I experienced was nearly orgasmic. The silence after the CD stops spinning is also rather awesome.

Conclusion: I don't like giving local bands scathing reviews but in Tetrix's case it couldn't be avoided. This is quite simply worse than terrible.

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Comments

WOW! I'll have to check this out for myself... It must be pretty far-out to get that bad of a review! I saw a review in FFWD for these guys too, and it sounds intense. I'll post my comments once I've heard it for myself.

This band is simply excellent. Being someone who has heard the afore-mentioned album "Tetrix 5", I know of what I speak. As this album may be considered "avant-guard", the reviewer obviously is not very experimental in his musically tastes. I get the impression that he would not "like" an album until he has read a positive review of it by a "socially-esteemed critic". For shame! Open your ears...and your mind will follow.

Can I dislike the album because it lacks musical aesthetics?

As gross as the box art hack job is (way to be creative by sampling someone else's IP there, probably without permission), because it is incapable of being played in a stereo system to make noise, it still sounds better than the actual music.

If it lacks creativity to sample an NES original game cover, why does everyone but you think it is brilliantly creative? You have obviously not spent much time on the internet if you are so concerned with the intellectual property rights of multi-national corporations.

My honest opinion of your review is that you are young and have moved from being musically exclusive in one genre (power-pop/punk-rock) to being musically exclusive in another (brit/indie-rock).

We'll drop off TETRIX 6 when it's ready... hopefully you will be.
Peace,
connorg

TETRIX is currently #20 on the CJSW charts... so keep your ears open for the sounds of static and suck!

A review is nothing more than an opinion, my opinion is no more valid then any other opinion. Just as anyone is entitled to like something I am also entitled to dislike something. Telling me that i'm wrong will in no way change my mind. Neither will unfounded and uninformed assumptions about my musical tastes. If you want to challenge my musical collection I would suggest actually finding something out about it before you make any claims; us Gauntlet folk aren't very hard to find after all.
Yes Tetrix is avant-garde (though i wouldn't call them avant-guard) and I can respect someone thinking they are brilliant (I might not be able to understand it but i can respect it). However when it comes right down to it I don't think they're brilliant; I listenend to the album for a week and it didn't do it for me. That is the way of music. Nothing that anyone can say, regardless of if they are an esteemed critic, a fan, or a member of the band is going to make me like an album that I considered to be a painful listen. If you disagree with me than by all means disagree with me.

The review was disrepectful. We are just artists expressing ourselves, and we obviously put alot of work into the product. We are not arrogant... just on the defensive after your public attack on our musical/creative/programming/design ability.

Ummmm... I'm sorry but by releasing your music to the public and by distributing copies to be reviewd you are kind of opening yourself up to being criticized. If you did not want a "public attack" on your music perhaps you should not have given copies away to be reviewed. I did not write the review with the desire to be disrespectful. That being said, I will not water down my opinion on an album just because someone might not like what I have to say.

Tetrix is a brilliant group who are taking stabs because they dare to venture into the unknown and create a style that is uniquely their own. They are blazing the trail into the future of music.

The problem with being so forward thinking is that you are confronted by simple minded people who cannot appreciate or wrap their brains around true innovation.

They are scared of it. It is unfamiliar and easy to write off. Such is the tragedy of refusing to accept pre-concieved conventions and going out on your own. You often find yourself alone, in a class by yourself.

Tetrix is truly ahead of their time. Yes, perhaps one day they will be ready. Until then, blaze your path into the unknown full speed ahead. Tetrix is the next logical step in the evolution of sound.

Ah Zha!..you thirsty old soul!
Any other gems lying around the old knickerbocker?

Hey hey hey! Quit fighting everyone! I think its neat to be in the newspaper. I also think its even neater that we got what is probably the worst review possible!
The only thing better would have been to get the best review possible, but that's pretty unlikely unless the reviewer is one of our buds...
I'm really enjoying all this attention!
Oh yeah! I just got a new olde fashioned synthesizer, so the music will probably get a LOT worse in the near future!!;-)
Cheers everyone!
-KRock

My dad can beat up your dad, the gauntlet I won't read anymore until they start acting cool again.

Breaking this album/video game/work of art into its parts seemed to be the only way to capture the brillant style of Tetrix, and these guys are polite gentlemen.

Production: Oh its the best thing since the high school I went to. Tetrix is God and I'm in no way opposed to the DIY ethic,infact I think more people should start there own record labels. It honestly sounds like these four guys with instruments have been taking on the role of leagends starting to change the way music should be...

Music: If you listen carefully I could here hidden messages, there is the moment when the instrumental work on many of the tracks made me see sound and hear colors. Tetrix fills every single second of each song with a style thats going to take the world over. Combine this with the already great production and all you get is pure genuis.

Vocals: The New edge to poetry.

Video game: Adding a video game to an album where members of the band fight each other in NES style graphics is a very cool idea. However, I'm having a tuff time beating the game I am trying now to repeatedly tap the space bar and crack the code. Its a great way to pass the time when I'm not drinking from the keg.

Positive Elements: The best attribute this album possesses is that it makes me feel alive and healthy its good music great for watching old time hockey on TSN. I come home slip off My leather jacket and Move to my stereo and listen to Tetrix and the feeling I experience is orgasmic. The silence after the CD stops spinning makes me mad like a little monster but it is also rather awesome. Ha.

Conclusion: I like giving local bands reviews I like Tetrix I can't avoid asking them for some pictures and an autograph for my math class... This is quite simply the first of many good things to come.


That's much better! Thanks Garth! Now if only that had been the original review! We could have tricked people into buying our CD's (at MEGATUNES hee hee) and everyone would have been happy!This little forum has been quite entertaining today! Sure beats working!
Cheers!
-KRock

Oh yeah, and GIANT 45 also sells 'em! Get 'em while they're hot and slimy!
-KROckds

I love how everyone is taking Garth's opinion so seriously. He's only a sub-retard after all. Come, give the guy a break, he's been through a lot.

TETRIX continues to excel, with numerous upcoming events. Their European label MeWe le Disque will be releasing a 12" this summer. With articles in both FFWD and Beatroute, as well as Radio interviews in the works, 2006 looks to be a great year for TETRIX!

http://www.tetrix.ca

I am doing a story on Tetrix, and I came across this article. I must say it intrigues me that this band was found to be so offensive in their hometown. Over here in Northern Ireland we appreciate the noise aesthetic and Tetrix has gained some popularity, although it remains on the fringes of the music scene. Hence it's appeal, I suppose. This "Tetrix 5" album especially interests me, as it received such extreme reviews which were both gushing and hate-filled. The mark of great music is the ability to generate an emotional reaction in the audience.

Victor Fredric
Music and Arts
BBC World News

Another opinion:

http://www.foxydigitalis.com/foxyd/review_detail.php?id=1665