CORTEZ - Phoebus

Cortez is a post-hardcore (in the absolute loosest sense of the term) trio from Geneva, Switzerland with a Spanish name who have titled their sophomore LP after the Greek epithet of Apollo as the God of the sun, Phoebus. If that weren’t enough, for good measure just about all of Cortez’s song titles are in French. This geographical connect-the-dots-game may seem confusing at first, but the music contained on Phoebus perfectly matches up with Cortez’s sporadic lexical approach. It’s an ambitious assortment of styles that range from moments of brutal heaviness to widescreen post-rock swells, and although it tends to falter occasionally, it’s ultimately a promising if not flawed effort from a band unwilling to settle into a comfortable niche.

When Cortez pulls of this vast musical synthesis well, the results are spellbinding. Opener “Temps-Mort” introduces things modestly with just over a minute of droning feedback before bursting triumphantly into four and a half minutes of relentless propulsion. Unfortunately, “Temps-Mort” serves as a momentous prelude to an uninspiring comedown, as “Transhumance” begins promisingly enough with an angular riff and howled group vocals before, well, sort of chasing its tail for it’s remaining six minutes, dipping in and out of circular drum patterns and emotive strumming to the end result of not a whole lot.

These moments of almost euphoric songwriting that are succeeded by bloated, underwhelming passages are somewhat of a theme on Phoebus. Slightly less than half of “Au Dela Des Flots”s time is devoted to jagged, ferocious riffing before the next three minutes are wasted on an emotionless fade-out. Tracks like “L’autre Estime”, “Nos Souvenirs Errants” and “Idylle”, however, undeniable scorchers that blaze by in a fury of metallic intensity, casting off the sonic dead weight that plagues so much of Phoebus.

There is something to be said for a band as “underground” as Cortez who chooses to experiment so wildly on their first release for a relatively notable label (in this case, Throatruiner Records, home and former home to bands such as Birds in Row (read), Clinging to the Trees of a Forest Fire, KEN mode and The Rodeo Idiot Engine). It demonstrates a hungriness and passion that most bands never quite achieve, or even possess. Even if Phoebus is often muddled by Cortez’s lack of a grasp on their own overzealousness, its moments that do stand out tend to border on sublime. Should they learn to focus their obvious talent, Cortez could absolutely craft a fantastic record. Phoebus isn’t it, but it could certainly be the groundwork for one that fully captures Cortez’s ability. [Throatruiner]
- Alexander Jones

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