Tercel – Tercel

Fort Lowell Records

After a handful of singles, splits, and regional shows, Wilmington, North Carolina’s Tercel have introduced themselves to the world with a self-titled EP - a rollicking, tight collection of five tracks that they’ve written and recorded over their first couple years as a band. It’s an exciting start that features a mix of early fan favorites and a couple more recent tracks that show off their chops as a band and introduce their unique flavor of indie rock to a wider audience.

Nostalgia is certainly at the core of what Tercel is doing on this project. They wear their 90s guitar influences on their sleeve but wield them in dynamic, exciting ways that dodge many of the typical labels (post-grunge, shoegaze, etc.) that are so often cited in the modern indie landscape. Their press materials list two dozen RIYL bands that span from Broken Social Scene to Japandroids to Sonic Youth to Sleater-Kinney to Yuck, and that’s a good way to describe Tercel’s synthesis of influences. They take tiny elements from a wide array of inspiration that date back decades, and the result is something that is at once nostalgic and timeless.

Every piece of the band sounds sharp, confident, and energetic, but the vocals are the standout. Savannah and Robin Wood share the mic gratuitously, but they share a similar emotionality and effort. On both the electrifying opener “Heron” and the second track “Decoder Ring,” the band borders on a yell as they aim to be heard loudly and clearly over Chris Vinopal’s buzzing guitars and Taylor Salvetti’s thundering drums. You could imagine a different band sounding discordant as they all play at 110%, but Tercel sound comfortable and in-sync, even at maximum effort.

The band’s clarity, energy, and unabashed effort harken back to an era where trying was cool, and frankly, that’s an attitude I think we could all stand to embrace. When Tercel decide to take that approach to their debut full-length, I’ll be lined up to listen.