Ten Seconds Era (TSE) is a band from Geneva (Switserland), founded in 2013. Since then they have been perfecting their alternative rock and metal, which is definitely written in order to perform live. With their latest e.p., 'Touchdown' they hope to reach the international stages. The e.p. is recorded at Downtone Studio by Drop (Sybreed, Samael)and mastered at Sterling Sound by Ted Jensen (Muse, Deftones).
'Touchdown' borrows heavily from the alternative rock scene of the nineties. Influences from bands like Tool, A Perfect Circle and Deftones shine through, although this e.p. is a lot more radio friendly then those three. Each one of the four tracks on this e.p. is a solid rock song with solid riffs, pounding drums and strong, clean vocals that somehow remind me Radiohead or the earlier mentioned bands.
What strikes me most is the almost continuous presence of vocals. There are very few instrumental passages to be found and one might say that there's simply too many of them. I know this is not really what a vocalist wants to hear but there should be a bit more place for some instrumental rocking. Luckily for TSE, they have a very decent vocalist who can pull it off and the songwriting is excellent.
Songs like 'Belabor' and 'Live It' have the power to get stuck in your head and I'm sure TSE can count on some enthousiastic members of the audience to sing along with the choruses. If they can deliver on stage, I can see a very nice future for this Swiss band, especially if they find some new ways to expand their sound and bring in some more variation. For a band that started only two years ago, this is some quality rock music. Let's keep an eye on them and see how they evolve...
Serge