Tsien – No Two People Are Not On Fire

Tsien is such an interesting English band that emanates from Birmingham. The group disbanded about a decade ago, leaving the unfinished full-length behind. There’s a whole universe made of the bands who went through the same scenario and never released anything to be remembered. Luckily, Tsien decided to remix and remaster their only album and offer it to the new generation of listeners, who might be interested in the older works of this creative band. What surprises me the most is how these compositions apply to the contemporary music scene, so you won’t get the feeling this is older material.

No Two People Are Not On Fire carries six post-hardcore compositions, so this recording might suit more like extended play than regular full-length. Perhaps the group explores the fundamentals of post-hardcore sound, but there are more genres involved than meets the eye. You may notice how Tsien incorporated progressive rock, math-rock, noise rock, post-rock, post-metal, alternative, and jazz along the way. The group continuously floats around all these ingredients but still sounds compact. Their music transcends from entirely controlled segments to more chaotic moments. One section leans towards the harmonious, melodic, compact sound, while the other goes into dissonant, chaotic, progressive experimentations.

The band handles both factors pretty well, so you’ll be amazed how Tsien operates during these numbers if you’re into this type of virtuosities. The amount of ideas implemented into these compositions goes beyond comprehension at some points, but even then, the band tends to amaze even more. The ratio of sheer aggression and relaxing calmness is balanced to perfection. It seems that the band slowly descends into more progressive/jazzy waters as the material passes by, but the post-hardcore energy is present from scratch to finish. Hopefully, the group will get together after releasing their debut and produce more brilliant tunes because their music is a piece of artistry. You can check out their music at streaming services such as Spotify, Bandcamp, and YouTube.