Let’s dispense with the hackneyed adjectives, shall we? Tano!, a power duo hailing from Girona, Spain, is neither your run-of-the-mill post-hardcore act nor a textbook definition of screamo. No, this band eludes the confines of neatly categorized genres like a wind you can’t bottle. Their latest album, “Intanostellar,” co-released on vinyl LP via a consortium of labels like Saltamarges, La Agonía de Vivir, Krimskramz, and Error! Music, is a sprawling soundscape that refuses to be tamed under one label.
Produced at Ultramarinos Costa Brava by the deft hands of Santi Garcia—who has previously worked with acts like Daitro and Viva Belgrado—the album is as diverse as a forest, each track resembling a tree with its own intrinsic nature and symbiotic relationship to the larger sonic ecosystem. Experimental might be a fitting term here, yet it barely scratches the surface of this auditory manifesto.
A molten blend of punk, experimental post-hardcore, and screamo with a sprinkle of spazzcore, the music of Tano! serves as a cacophonic mosaic, each piece audaciously reshaping the contiguous spaces. It’s a controlled chaos, expressed in Catalan, a language that in itself adds layers of complexity to the already intricate pattern of rhythms and melodies.
The roots of Tano! reach back to 2014, when Oskar Garcia and Víctor Pelusa found themselves in a compelling musical dialogue that germinated into a plethora of original songs. This union has led them through a journey across the landscapes of the Iberian Peninsula and parts of Europe. Here, emotions run high, cascading through tales and myths lyrically sung—sometimes shouted—in their native Catalan. The end product? An uncontainable visceral energy that ripples across their discography and live performances.
The album is more than just a collection of tracks. It is a meticulous account of socio-political climates, existential musings, and a vivid tableau of human fallibility.
For instance, “La Bèstia” (The Beast) confronts the societal monstrosities we create yet choose to overlook, while “Miracles Perduts” (Lost Miracles) is an almost poetic assertion against giving up when surrounded by adversities. On the flip side, “Lladre de Temps” (Time Thief) questions the institutional theft of time by the systems we live under, offering an alternative perspective to ‘taking back control.’
As you listen, it’s as if you’re experiencing a cornucopia of narratives—each song a chapter, yet woven together as if bound by the threads of a single, twisted psyche. ‘Intanostellar‘ encapsulates its thoughts through a plethora of narrative avenues, from folklore and current events to philosophical ponderings and a myriad of psychological motifs.
A swirling haze of sometimes broken, sometimes fluid rhythms underpins everything, creating a musical backdrop that is as unstable as it is enthralling. It’s a discordant symphony, yes, but one that achieves an oddly harmonious balance in its disarray.
Tano! brings something to the table that is often lost in the music world: a commitment to the local scene and communities. Their respect for the homegrown acts and establishments—evident in the tribute song “Agustano Segura“—marks them not just as musicians but as community participants, aware of the ecosystem they are part of. Whether they are praising environmental activists, as in “Gretano Thunberg,” or questioning the societal norms and values in “L’Enciclopèdia del No-Res” (The Encyclopedia of Nothingness), they establish a connection that goes beyond the music, reaching into the hearts and minds of their listeners.
Today, we welcome the band to give us a full rundown of all songs on ‘Intanostellar‘, through a special track by track commentary below.
La Bèstia (THE BEAST)
The beast is not an animal, but a creation of humanity. It is a symbolism of what we feed it, without taking into account the negative impact that brings to the society. Either out of comfort, fear or simply because we don’t question anything, it gets curious when the problem gets bigger and things goes wrong. We all wonder how it could happen, but sometimes is too late. We can see it in politics, ecology, economy or when we misuse technology and everything turns against us.
Miracles Perduts (LOST MIRACLES)
You start digging your own grave. Such a wrong choice as you have a whole world out there waiting for you. We all know how we will end up, there is no need to anticipate it, giving up too soon or planning to commit suicide. We know this can be a simple but sometimes necessary message. Now, while writing this text, we realise that this could perfectly have been inspired by Spencer Johnson’s book “Who Moved My Cheese?”. We were trying to be a little bit positive when everything around us isn’t.
Negre és el Color (BLACK IS THE COLOUR)
A song against the imposed cultures, which is often accompanied by the destruction of the own and native cultures. The reason? To gain more power, greed… keep everything under control. A typical strategy of imperialisms, governments and even big corporations. Going against this aggression tend to be considered an act of rebellion. So here we have a tribute to those who do it. No passaran!
Gretano Thunberg
All Tano!’s instrumental songs are named after someone relevant to history or society, without having any particular pattern besides the play on words. It is sometimes inspired by the musical part of the song, sometimes it’s just an inside joke. What matters is the name within the “tano-language”. In this case, the protagonist is the great Greta Thunberg, the Swedish environmental activist, of course!
Criant Corbs (RAISING CROWS)
It is true that everything is relative in terms of the point of view, just as everything can be reversed. As in ancient Egypt, the modern empires also have their pyramids, but they are merely stone piles. The power of the people is huge, even if they want us isolated. There is a catalan popular sentence that says: “Raise crows, and they’ll gouge out your eyes” which in the song we have changed to: “Raise crows, and you will have plenty”. Not everything has the negative sense given to it. Crows are beautiful birds, plus All Crows are Beautiful!
Agustano Segura
Agus is one of the founding members of the Atzavara Club in Sant Feliu de Guíxols in 1994. Tzvr is a diy cultural association and concert hall that has been a very important reference in our local scene. During the 90’s and 2000’s they have held hundreds of concerts and their own festival. Bands like Randy, At The Drive In, Converge, Drive Like Jehu… and many, many more… Oh, and it’s still working on!
Carlos Santano
A cool guy! :)
Lladre de Temps (TIME THIEF)
At this point, it’s obvious that capitalism steals our time and our freedom in exchange for a (hopefully) fixed salary. But, what if we do it the other way around and we steal time from capitalism? Like we don’t go to work and don’t do everything we’re supposed to do to be another gear of this mechanism? Well, you’ll be punished one way or another by the same system… This song is about a time hero. Someone who steals time to be with the her/his family, her/his friends, the ones she/he loves.
Tinc un Ogre a Casa (I HAVE AN OGRE AT HOME)
It can be considered an introspective song. The ogre, like a black hole, absorbs all our energy and joy wherever you go. A negative force. There is a saying: the longest path begins with a step. To identify which is this ogre is the first step towards a change. An unchaining act.
L’Eterna Creuada (THE ETERNAL CRUSADE)
The absurd and constant search for happiness keeps us away of living the present and building for a better future. It is somehow a reflexion about the concept of happiness disappearing at the same time as you reach it, making the process repeat itself constantly just by asking yourself: “what’s next?”. Obviously, this is a Tano! song, so this is symbolized in a ghost ship sailing towards nowhere, where the lighthouses are the happiness concept, that disappear once you find them, and the ship crew are lost souls being cursed forever and ever…
L’Enciclopèdia del No-Res (THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF NOTHINGNESS)
Sometimes we try to find answers to things that have none. Sometimes it’s that simple, no matter how many tries you want to take. And if they had one, would it be written in the encyclopedia of nothingness? Never mind. This song is focused on all those feelings that sink us in a well, but it’s not really that bad. What is bad is the lack of motivation or the lack of strength to move forward and fight. This song can be considered as an hymn to move forward, and to remind ourselves that fighting to improve things is worth it. There always will be a new tomorrow. Never surrender!
