Terrorista

Canadian twosome Terrorista are in the midst of releasing four, two-song cassette singles over six months, which should lead right up to the comeback of the CD-3. But for now, dig into the video for the tune Dirty Smile off the Green Tape, out February 17, following on the heels of the recently released Pink Tape and Purple Tape.

Directed by Emma Arkell and Genevieve Latour, the clip’s look draws from the over-saturated colors and scratchy animation alt-rock era look, as does Terrorista’s sound, a swirl of early ’90s grunge and shoegaze. The duo adds, or rather subtracts the over-reverb usually utilized in this genre today, churning out the loud-quiet-loud loop-de-doop with a sure swagger. “Dirty Smile” also features backup vocals from Owen Buckland from Fuss.

Check out the premiere of Dirty Smile below. And if you’re in Toronto on February 21, they’ve got the Green Tape release party at The Central. - CMJ

Toronto two-piece Terrorista served up a string of colourful cassettes earlier this year, and now they've returned with local buds Outer Rooms in tow for a new single. The two-song split effort will be released on cassette on September 4 at Cameron House in Toronto, where the bands will perform a one-off set as Terror Rooms.

Both bands play on both of the new tracks, though "People Float" is billed as Terrorista featuring Outer Rooms, while "Driver" is credited vice versa. The former is an indie rock barnburner with an infectious shout-along refrain suggesting to "shut up," while the latter's gritty guitars stand out from beneath aggressive but arty post-punk-style vocals. The bed tracks were recorded live off the floor in a single short session, with vocals getting added in afterwards.

You can hear the final results by streaming the premiere of the joint effort in the player below. Scroll past the audio tracks to watch a clip for "People Float," as well. - exclaim!

Combining the fast and frantic approach of hardcore with the fuzzed-out broke-four-track sound of classic indie, the Ontario band Terrorista creates music that is both scorched and breathless — bruised, barreling riffs battling it out with scraped-throat vocals.

The band has only two members, Sam Hargrove on guitar and vocals and Rich Taylor on drums, and while that equation may call to mind fellow Canadian volume-hogs Japandroids, Terrorista are scrappier, more winningly ragged and raw. “Darren Vs. Bag,” which showcases the group in all their wild, raw power, is the first single from the group’s “purple tape,” the second in a series of cassette singles designed to be collected and played back-to-back (it was preceded by a pink tape, and green and blue tapes will follow in the coming months).

Cassette is the perfect medium for Terrorista; its limited fidelity blunts the band’s volume and muddies the edges of each riff, making the final product feel that much more frantic and warped and feral.

Order Terrorista’s pink tape here. - Wondering Sound

We’re pleased to bring you the premiere of Terrorista‘s new single “Double Negative.” The track is part of the band’s Purple Tape, the second installment of a four part series of cassette single releases.

The Purple Tape will be released on December 2nd. It will be followed by the Green Tape, and Blue Tape in 2015. Previously released Pink Tape can be found at Bandcamp.

Rich of Terrorista comments on the track:

“This song was initially about calling bullshit on the idea that you can’t love someone else without loving yourself. We played the song four years ago. It was different. It was written on bass. When we brought it back, all of a sudden it was ‘thumpy and boomy.’ It became fun to play. We recorded the bed tracks in one take… it was one of those situations where we knew there was no way we would play it any better. It’s one of our oldest songs, so it was natural. The way it should be.” - New Noise Magazine

Today, Toronto-based duo Terrorista premiere “People Float”, one of two songs on Terror Rooms, a new split cassette with fellow Toronto-based band Outer Rooms.

Bed tracks for the two songs were recorded live off the floor in a short session collaborative session, with vocals added later. Both bands play and sing on each other’s song, making Terror Rooms a true shared responsibility.

Terrorista and Outer Rooms release Terror Rooms at Toronto’s Cameron House on September 4th, where they will play their first (and only set) as Terror Rooms.

Hear “People Float” below. - Quick Before It Melts

When Overblown interviewed Toronto post-hardcore duo Terrorista late last month, they told us that one reason they chose the unusual tactic of releasing cassette tapes with two tracks apiece every few months was to engender more press coverage. Hey, in the modern noisy information saturated world you need every tactic you can muster. With interest growing with each release, the tactic seems to have worked. It has certainly kept my attention.

Today they share ‘Sean Drums’. It’s the second track from their upcoming Green Tape out 17th February and it’s premiering right here on Overblown. Green Tape is the third in a series of four tapes set for release, and it follows their Pink Tape and Purple Tape released late last year. Featuring Owen Buckland of fellow Toronto band Fuss, it marks the duo’s continued move from muscle to melody, bearing more resemblance to Dinosaur Jr or Bob Mould’s solo work than the more rambunctious tracks that appeared on their earlier tapes.

You can catch them live at a release show for the tape at The Central in Toronto on February 21st.

Rich, who either plays guitar or drums in the duo (I’m a crap journalist), says, “The song itself is a weird one for us. It’s pretty indie-rock, and we usually play harder/faster stuff. We asked Owen to sing on it and he ended up singing on both Green Tape songs. He’s a good friend of mine, and I love his band Fuss. Sean was our old bassist, and his leaving allowed Sam and I to finally do what we’ve been trying to do for many years. Nevertheless, I was pretty crushed when he left, and we almost stopped making music altogether. It all worked out in the end, and there are no hard feelings at all. The song name is a tribute to Sean and his old band Grids.”

Sam, who also does stuff in the band, adds, “When I started working night-shifts I was renting a house with a group of musicians at the northern limit of Toronto. In the summer, it was almost guaranteed they’d all be out in our giant backyard, listening to music and a couple of beers deep. Those guys are some of the best friends I’ll ever have. We used to throw shows at the house, and Terrorista played more than a few of them. The name “Sean Drums” is a play on the title of a song name by one of the housemate’s previous bands, Grids. Sean does not play drums.” - Overblown (London, UK)

The faces behind the Toronto two-piece Terrorista, Sam and Rich, have been playing together for over ten years but they promise that their newest project is the most exciting and high-energy music they’ve ever created. I say so far so good when it comes to the single “Darren vs. Bag”. A track with a subtle lead in that rolls right into power pop goodness with roaring vocals and crunching guitars.

The punk rock duo plan to release a series of cassettes, saying that each tape will be “in their own flashy colour and fitting together to reveal a different part of who we are.” This track “Darren vs. Tape” is set to appear on the purple cassette, set for release soon. In the meantime listeners can hear the pink cassette on their Soundcloud page. - Wolf Wizard Radio (CHRW 94.9fm)

The Skinny: Hey all you punkers... we've got a free download of the song "Darren vs Bag" from the Toronto, Canada duo, Terrorista that you'll want to check out! Comprised of Sam Hargrove (guitar, vox) and Rich Taylor (drums, vox) this pair of talented musicians have already been kicking in and around the local scene for a decade plus! This time out, they're going it alone, and the results are outstanding - check out the song "Darren vs Bag" just above.

According to the band: "In August 2014, [they] headed to their DIY studio in Sam's basement and got to work recording eight songs to be released in a series of 4 cassette singles. Over four days of grueling recording, drinking, and jumping off balconies into pools, the songs were done. The first single PINK TAPE was released on September 20th, 2014, to coincide with a packed show at Toronto's Handlebar." "Darren vs Bag" comes from the next cassette PURPLE TAPE, and more tapes are to come! - PureGrainAudio

4. Terrorista "Sarah Michelle Gellar"

Terrorista is a band from Toronto with a guitar and drums, and the nicest thing I can say about them is that they don’t sound like a two-piece band. The sound is full and big, and the song Sarah Michelle Gellar is more than a wonderful 90s namecheck. It’s big, swirling, post-punk, with vibes of Japandroids, Diarrhea Planet and (if you want to go back a bit) Planes Mistaken for Stars. - USA Today - "FTW"