Tesseract – Errai

In an alternate universe somewhere, Tesseract are one of the biggest rock bands on the planet. The quintet from Milton Keynes have trailblazed through their career with their odd time signatures, mid-range distortion and polyrhythmic riffs, releasing three superb albums along the way. Somewhat stifled by an ever changing frontline, (they’ve had five vocalists in 14 years and current singer Daniel Tompkins is in his second stint with the band) it’s certainly with a degree of justification that they could – and probably should – be far bigger than they actually are. But their vision and musicianship remains unparalleled, something that is proven once again with Errai, their latest EP released by KScope.

Errai sees Tesseract take four tracks from their latest album, the blistering Polaris, and remix them in a far more ambient and ethereal setting. Save for a few acoustic moments, everything about the guitar has been replaced by and large with pianos and synths, but it makes for an intriguing, if altogether brief experience. Along with the aforementioned musicianship, Tompkins is on fire here, his voice like silk as it glides across ‘Survival’, ‘Cages’, ‘Tourniquet’ and ‘Seven Names’, the first of these being the stand out highlight. Sure, this is no more than a bonus disc you might find on limited editions of albums – and expect it to become one when Polaris is inevitably given a facelift – but right now it’s a curious little number that will please both the diehards and anyone who’s recently discovered Tesseract in general. A solid effort.

Lineup
Daniel Tompkins – vocals
Alec ‘Acle’ Kahney – guitar
James ‘Metal’ Monteith – guitar
Amos Williams – bass, backing vocals
Jay Postones – drums, percussion

Track Listing

Survival
Cages
Tourniquet
Seven Names

Links

http://tesseractband.co.uk
http://www.facebook.com/tesseractband
http://www.twitter.com/tesseractband