TesseracT’s first three albums earned them, in vocalist Dan Tompkins’ own words, “three different fanbases”. If you can stomach scrolling through online opinions, you’ll find this to be true. Fans adore their forays into djent, brooding soudscapes, unfathomable prog wizardry, and their mix of clean and screamed vocals, to varying degrees.
Their previous releases play on these elements differently, and with separate vocalists, putting the Milton Keynes five-piece in a difficult position. How can TesseracT cater to this broad church?
‘Sonder’ responds by attempting to strike a balance between melancholic beauty and prog ferocity through upping the ambience. Slow burning, ethereal passages consistently provide breaks in what could otherwise be characterised as no holds barred aggression. But this does blunt its edge somewhat.
At least a third of the 36 minute album is ambiently driven, and although the celestial chiming and soft vocals are beautiful, they're just not memorable enough to have much of an impact. These moments slip through your fingers and, for lack of a better term, come off as filler, which is unforgivable in such a short album.
To enjoy ‘Sonder’ you must be on board with these frequent tranquil moments because, beyond skipping the third and final track, Orbital and The Arrow, they're unavoidable. But the record isn’t without its thrilling climaxes and TesseracT still thrive on the virtuosic supremacy that hardcore prog heads are looking for.
Luminary, King, Juno and Smile are great tunes to this effect, featuring mind-bending polyrhythmic grooves, heavy off-kilter riffs and some extreme vocals from Tompkins, which make a welcome return after their largely screamless ‘Polaris’ album.
The concept behind ‘Sonder’ is a welcome one, too. It gives the album an intriguing context to work in. The word sonder is defined in the Book of Obscure Sorrows as “the realisation that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own”. The LP’s lyrics are loosely and poetically based on this premise, but don’t follow a narrative. This is not a concept album, rather a release that uses a concept to set an emotional tone, and it works.
‘Sonder’ is a decent TesseracT release that accepts a difficult mission to cater to a wide audience. It does achieve its goal, but at a cost. The clipped length of the album and the number of ambient detours mean it’s unlikely to become a fan favourite, especially with those who’ve followed the group since their vastly more experimental beginnings.
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