Tesseract – War Of Being

Label - Kscope

Release - 15th September 2023

Words - Venny

The build up to the release of fifth album led to some anticipation. The lush cinematic still images on social media, video games projects and the video to War of Being hint at a return to their more expansive earlier days. The last two albums, Polaris and Sonder, have seen Tesseract more succinct and focussed. Both are excellent albums and when prog bands are able to concatenate their musicianship and ideas into smaller spaces, the results can be fantastic, Steven Wilsons album THE FUTURE BITES being an excellent example. However, there will be a number of fans who still harken back to the days of One and Altered state, wishing for more sprawling and stretched out tracks.

So where does War of Being stand? The answer probably lies between the two. The first thing to remark upon is that the album is not as immediate as its predecessors are. On first spin you may be left feeling somewhat flat. However, as we all know, the best albums reveal themselves with repeated listens, and War of Being is a case in point. The album opens in a bright and lively way with Natural Disaster and Echoes; like a cold glass of white wine on a hot September Indian summer’s day. The ‘instant gratification’ lyrically proclaimed on The Grey is satisfied by a repetitively djenty and groovy riff. After a bright opening, the album touches more gentle, introspective and tender realms on, well, Tender. Tesseract are now masters of this form, with Tourniquet and Beneath My Skin from the last two albums both being beauties, showcasing Dan Tompkins crystalline almost falsetto vocals. The title track was released as a single and as you may or may not expect, clocks in over 10 minutes. The track typifies the rest of the album in not hitting on first (lengthy) listen, but growing on repeated listens and is justifiably selected as a lead track from the album. The album ends with more synth-led tracks Sirens, Burden and Sacrifice, another form in which Tesseract are again becoming masters. Tesseract continue to be one of the UKs finest, their mastery of their craft is comes less in giant strides but by degrees. Dans’ vocals, Amos’ elasticated bass, Acle’s production as well as the accompanying imagery are now established and new and old fans alike will be extremely happy with their latest offering.

8/10