Ten Kens - Studio Albums 2008-2013 [3CD]

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Ten Kens - Studio Albums 2008-2013 [3CD]

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Collection includes: Ten Kens (2008); For Posterity (2010); Namesake - Expanded Edition (2013).

Having met at art school in 2003, Dan Workman and Dean Tzenos soon realized they had a musical kinship that simply had to be explored. With Tzenos on guitar and Workman providing unnervingly angelic vocals that can turn to a scream in an instant, the pair practiced with various drummers before breaking away and renting a townhouse in their hometown of Toronto with the goal of recording an album under the name Ten Kens. A year later, the duo emerged with a demo that caught the ear of FatCat Records, who snapped them up amidst a flurry of label interest. Fleshing out the lineup with Lee Stringle on bass, and finally settling for a drummer in Ryan Roantree, Ten Kens were set to transform their early recordings into what would be their debut, self-titled album.

Recorded in Montreal and produced by Colin Stewart (Black Mountain, Pretty Girls Make Graves) in June 2007 and released in September 2008, Ten Kens drew inspiration sonically from the likes of Nirvana and At the Drive-In, while often rumbling along at a tempo and with an attitude akin to contemporaries Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and the Black Angels. Originally schooled as a jazz drummer, Ryan Roantree's style never allowed the music to become stale, while Tzenos' delivered guitar riffs shimmered and crunched in equal measure. Meanwhile, Workman's vocals – drenched in distorted effects – breathed life into often cavernous soundscapes, such as the rolling first half of "Refined," which eventually twists and builds into a vicious finale.

Having supported the likes of A Place to Bury Strangers and Sian Alice Group in America and across Europe, Ten Kens' preparations for a second album hit turbulence as Dean Tzenos left the band. Fortunately, a determined Dan Workman was not going to let the project stall, bringing in Brett Paulin on guitar, while John Sullivan completed the new line-up, replacing Lee Stringle on bass. The result was For Posterity; a more accomplished, fierce, and direct listen than Ten Kens, it was evident that there was already an impressive musical understanding between Workman and Paulin. Recalling Ten Kens' fledgling recording processes, the band locked themselves away with – as the frontman put it – "no outsiders, no distractions, no sunlight" to create a darker, more affecting album than its predecessor. On "Back to Benign," guitars explode into life along a thick bassline that creeps and stalks across Dan Workman's pained vocals, which play a far more major role than on Ten Kens. Meanwhile, "Screaming Viking" calls on Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin-esque riffs and energy to intimidate the listener as much as it entertains.

For 2012's Namesake, Brett Paulin and Dan Workman continued to grow as a team, engineering and producing an album which voyaged into darker and more psychedelic terrain than Ten Kens' earlier work. Created during an intense year-long period, Namesake was crafted in a number of studios, using a whole host of techniques in order to create a sound the band – once again completely isolated for an entire project – was happy with. The resulting record features the likes of opener "Death in the Family," a seven-and-a-half-minute musical journey that begins with a bassline recalling Pink Floyd before swirling layers of vocals and guitar arrive, providing a mesmerizing, furious crescendo that eventually collapses, seemingly under its own weight. Meanwhile, the sobering melody of "The Field Around Your Van" is contrasted by the explosive, monumental riffs of "German Purity," around which Workman's vocals weave themselves brilliantly.

Biography by Daniel Clancy, Allmusic.com

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Ten Kens - Studio Albums 2008-2013 [3CD]

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Ten Kens - Studio Albums 2008-2013 [3CD]

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Ten Kens combine raw vocal delivery, driving rhythms, and heavy, reverb-laden guitars with idiosyncratic song structures, creating a fresh, immediate sound. The Toronto quartet's volatile mix of bittersweet melody and spiky, lysergic rock is alternately introspective and belligerent, pensive and swaggering, with a unique perspective that earns them a place at the outer limits of darkly melodic rock.

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Ten Kens - Studio Albums 2008-2013 [3CD]

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‘For Posterity’ is the second album from Ten Kens. As the title suggests, this release sees them looking to the future, and the band have pursued a distinct artistic vision that takes inspiration from a range of disparate genres and movements, from the meditative experimentation of Psychedelia to the immediacy of Hardcore, steering them towards a bold new sound that is truly unique.

The product of this vision is the result of an intense recording period. The band aimed to achieve a specific balance of sound to make recordings that were dynamic and powerful yet simultaneously raw and organic. The reclusive nature of their recording process has informed an album that is darker than the self-titled debut and incredibly focused; it sounds like an album that could only be made by musicians with a shared artistic vision, devoid of any outside influence.

Whilst ‘For Posterity’ is a very different beast to the self-titled album, many of the elements that yielded such a critically well received debut still survive and are enhanced. Ten Kens continue to be an idiosyncratic band that find delight in toying with the listeners expectations, often at multiple points within a single song. ‘Johnny Ventura’, the first track from the new album is a prime example, introducing a Roky Erickson-like howl from Dan Workman over the top of a crushing guitar riff, before stopping abruptly for a brief ethereal mid-song interlude, perfectly demonstrating the bands ability to juxtapose quiet introspection with unabashed belligerence.

Indeed, it is the range of contrasts which make ‘For Posterity’ such an intriguing listen. Heavenly vocals appear hauntingly over dark sludgy guitars which then themselves provide a platform for a surprisingly spiky post-punk riff, or the prelude to a screaming deluge of noise. Still, whilst the band sought simply to capture the spirit unique to each song, the band have maintained the ability to record an album with a sonic narrative, through the widescreen sense of drama that characterized their self-titled debut. However, whilst the musical intent of that was to make a tangible body of work, ‘For Posterity’ feels more like a spirit, haunting the listener with a brooding dread that runs throughout the album and binds its contrasting musical elements together.

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Ten Kens - Studio Albums 2008-2013 [3CD]

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A bassline stalks the shadows before slowly but purposefully creeping into view. Ominous vocals echo and shimmer onto the scene, chanting mantras that sound like ancient, otherworldly warnings. It’s over four minutes until the drums roll and crash, creating a backdrop that begins to build, mesmerizing the listener with guitars that swing around in circles, performing a swirling pagan ritual. That we are introduced to Namesake, the third album from Ten Kens, with “Death in the Family,” a seven-and-a-half-minute psychedelic odyssey, says everything about the minds, imaginations, and musical philosophy of the Canadian rockers. Where 2010’s For Posterity gave a nod in this bold direction, Namesake fully embraces the notion of taking songs off on dark, psychedelic tangents that often refuse to return. Dan Workman's vocal work is sublimely angelic with a disturbing twist, providing an eerie additional instrument more often than it does a hook. It can be frustrating when you consider his lyrical prowess on earlier Ten Kens material, but the results are mainly rewarding and, essentially, fit the setting perfectly. Brett Paulin's guitars complement Workman in dramatic fashion, constantly threatening to erupt from intricate, angst-ridden picking into a full-bodied wall of distortion. “Fetal Misgivings” is one of the finest examples of the Workman/Paulin partnership; a dreamlike mood carries the song along, calm and relaxed, until the guitar turns colossal and Workman drifts away, allowing the instrumental chaos to play out. Elsewhere, “German Purity” is a far more straightforward stoner rock number that provides a welcome, rather thrilling head-banging opportunity, while the simplified dynamics and more coherent feel of “The Field Around Your Van” feel slightly out of place among the ten tracks. Some may, however, see this as a welcome break from the deliberately oppressive nature of large portions of the album, which isn’t as immediate as earlier output and can seem hard work at first, but repeat listens breathe new life into Namesake. Over time you come to grips with its twists and turns, finding new ground emerging from the shadows.

Review by Daniel Clancy, Allmusic.com