After a lengthy hiatus, shoegazing pioneers and noise merchants Bailterspace returned to the live stage this year following the release of Strobosphere, a worthy addition to their existing catalogue. Just over a year later, another album by the band is upon us. Trinine, however, is a somewhat murkier album than its predecessor.
Motorik beats and fuzzed-out guitar dominate proceedings on the title track and 'Plan Machine', with 'Today' and 'Tri5' alternating pulsing drones and submerged vocals. While there’s a few turns toward the more experimental side of their sound on cuts like 'TapenZloop' and 'Silver', the subtle melodies that inform their best work seem to be lacking from the album as a whole. The brief running times for a few songs toward the end of the album make them seem more like sketches to be fleshed out live - particularly on the otherwise excellent 'Together', which fades out just as it feels ready to go higher in intensity.
New material from Bailterspace ought to be effortless evocations of an era so many bands these days are painfully attempting to recreate. However the band’s best moments had a natural depth that is lacking by and large here. Many of these songs will undoubtedly come to life on stage - the band demonstrating earlier this year that their love for high volume and immersive sonic textures has not been dulled in anyway by their hiatus - but as it stands, Trinine is the sound of an excellent band just coasting along.
