Many bands claim to transport you to another world. Few achieve it so quickly and profoundly as Montreal’s Japanese psych surf rock legends TEKE::TEKE.
Whether it’s vocalist Maya Kuroki taking the stage at the beginning to deliver a melodramatic monologue while shedding mask after mask to reveal an even more unsettling one beneath, flautist Yuki Isami and her glamorous, ’70s go-go dancer look, or simply the restless, constantly shapeshifting compositions that make up this group’s catalogue, it’s impossible to not find yourself spirited away by this impeccable six-piece before long.
Dressed in loud, clashing patterns that mirror the disparate musical influences driving the group, TEKE::TEKE took us on a truly epic 90-odd-minute journey through the better part of their catalogue, from their earliest releases all the way to some of their more recent work created for a recent Assassin’s Creed soundtrack. Sometimes, it’s raucous and upbeat, the perfect thing for a day on the breakwater. Other times, it’s a high-octane parkour chase theme that grips us and never lets go, every hairpin turn catching us off-guard to create a dense, intricate weave of sonic threads that feel impossible to parse.
Songs may have five, six, ten different sections a piece, and the group is beyond solid as they deftly swing into abrupt turns, sink into the quiet moments, and explode back out into dramatic climaxes with little to no warning. With an unmatched energy and a sound unlike any other, TEKE::TEKE continues to be a force to be reckoned with.
