While thick and brawny enough to blow out your speakers at the right volume, there’s still a tremendous amount of dexterity going into the construction of Tsunami of Sound’s main riff in “Motor Oil” well worth taking note of. Precision can mean the difference between a well-oiled machine and a loud, hot mess, and in order to maintain a surgical focus while still putting a strong emphasis on distortion, Tsunami of Sound put a little extra elbow grease into the mix here. Every element has its place in the arrangement, and though tightly wound, “Motor Oil” is a fire-starter that doesn’t need much kindling to get going.

Official Website: https://www.tsunamiofsound.com/

The percussion here is as monstrous as the guitar is, and considering just how much carnage the riffing could accomplish on its own, this is definitely not a small statement for me to make. The drums are responsible for boxing in the bassline with just enough pressure as to keep the guitar buoyant at the top of the mix, but rather than stopping there, their tone actually seems to have been equalized in the same fashion as the bass – leading to incomparable intensity when we’re least expecting it midway through the song.

I like the conservative role that the bass parts are initially afforded in “Motor Oil,” particularly as it gives the main riff so much space to create the narrative for the entire track. There’s no vocal or lyrics here for us to break down, so the only real communication is coming through the charged melody as it comes surging through the speakers in real time. In this sense, spacing and a mathy arrangement can be credited for Tsunami of Sound coming off like a veteran act instead of a bunch of rookies, which is always a goal at this juncture of a budding career.

You don’t need to have a strong affinity for rock to dig what this band is doing at the moment, but for those listeners out there that like heavy music of a more intellectually-stimulating variety, this is a surprisingly adept group you need to be following this season. “Motor Oil” was my first time sitting down with any of their music, but based on what it says about their integrity as performers, I think it would be silly for anyone to anticipate lackluster quality from their future work. Honestly, there are just too many positives in this cut for me to expect less than amazement.

John McCall