TEKE:TEKE - “Kala Kala”

SXSW 2022 - OEB Score: 8; Popularity Index: 5

Pairs Well With…Khruangbin, La Luz, Takeshi Terauchi

A Canadian band playing Japanese psych rock is the short-form description of TEKE::TEKE, but a listen through their debut album Shirushi shares an ambitious band painting cinematic strokes of universal rock music. While musically tight, TEKE::TEKE have a light touch, adding jazz structures and melodies that sound like smoke wafting through a mysterious room full of strangers. Mood shifts from stoner-rock intensity (“Kala Kala”) to eclectic punk (“Barbara”) to moments of ambient swirl (“Dobugawa”), crushing genre expectations in their constantly surprising ways. While dense, TEKE:TEKE are hardly chaotic, every note played with intention over whip-tight grooves. The East-meets-West mentality plays out in both their musical direction and their instrumentation, dual electric guitars are met with flute and trombone both in harmony and back-and-forth jams. TEKE::TEKE close out POP Montreal’s showcase at Swan Dive on Thursday night. (Kevin McStravick)