‘A incógnita, un pequeno brote nun esgallo leñoso, en días sen choiva e sen sol, Unha esperanza vana, pero unha esperanza polo menos, Un pequeno agarre en caída libre, pero un agarre polo menos’ (Letargo) / ‘The unknown, a small sprout on a woody branch, on days without rain and without sun. A vain hope but hope at least. A little grip in free fall, but a grip at least’ (Lethargy)

The Galicia region of Spain has long been a fertile region for experimental crust and Tenue (Faint) have been at the forefront of building on the early 2000s’ legacy of pioneers such as Ekkaia, Ictus, and Madame Germen.  Following on from 2021’s Territorios (which is, essentially, a single-track album), the band return with their third and most ambitious full-length yet, Arcos, Bóvedas, Pórticos (Arches, Vaults, Gateways).  Originally released in 2024, this is the recent second pressing.

Their sound is a fiercely crafted fusion of melodic crust and emoviolence, bound tightly together by shared blackened impulses and not entirely averse to leaning into a certain early 1990s’ emo melodicism.  Lyrically, the band continue to explore an everyday anarchism.  It is one that rejects ‘the politics of the ubiquitous enemy’ and recognises the value of what we can achieve through collective endeavour and community action.

From the outset, you know to leave any pre-conceived expectations at the door as a woozy late night jazz trumpet interplays with gently strummed acoustic guitar and harsh shrieks before Inquietude (Unease) erupts fully into view.  It unfurls in a majestic assemblage of frantic riffage, metallic heft, and trumpet laced introspection.  Distracción (Distraction) similarly embodies the band’s dexterity in marrying galloping velocity with flourishes of unexpected, beguiling reflection.  While the uplifting, rousing fervour of Enfoque (Focus) reaffirms the deep-seated sense of hope that permeates the album, the kernel of our resistance.