RITCHOT TEXTILES 'II' REVIEW
- dizzymaguk
- 8 hours ago
- 3 min read
Words: Ollie Hopewell
Photo: Brodie Parachoniak
That's it, back to Winnipeg!
Let me set the scene. It’s around 02:00 in the morning in early January and I can’t sleep no matter what I do, so I default to doomscrolling on Instagram Reels through a seemingly endless sea of uninspired content, much of which was perforated by hearing Creed’s One Last Breath over and over as it was trending at the time. I’m bored out of my mind and frustrated that I can’t sleep, and I feel as though I’m starting to lose my mind as one so often does at 02:04 in the morning, but then, as I mindlessly swipe to the next video, I am met with a still image ad promoting Ritchot Textiles’ debut EP, humbly named i, accompanied by a musical bed of what I now know to be their debut single Heaven. In this moment I am weightless.
Born from the fallout of Canadian Post-Punk four-piece Blessed, Ritchot Textiles consists of Reuben Houweling, Mitchell Trainor, and Drew Riekman whose indelible collaborations have perfectly translated into a new sound that is as tight as it is eerie. If i is an exploration of soundscapes that are equally alien and familiar, ii is a distillation of said formula that blends a greater charisma to the trio’s further leanings into the groovy paranoia of their inaugural release; don’t let the infancy of this project fool you, Ritchot Textiles are as tenured as they come, and it looks like they’re here to stay.
With i being released on 11/10/24 and sophomore EP ii dropping just over 5 months later on 21/03/25, the 20 years of alliance between the bandmates has produced a sound that is accomplished, rounded, and varied as they communicate in an almost telepathic way to create a truly unique sound. Supernatural vocals, ambient undertones, haunting guitar riffs, and focused drumming allow Ritchot Textiles to create something more akin to an atmosphere than to an album, taking clear inspiration from the likes of Nine Inch Nails and Silver Apples to generate a sound that feels like an unlikely merger of Swedish Folk Rock duo Junip and the Shin Megami Tensei IV OST – I’m aware that’s niche.
From i, we get this ethereal softness from Heaven that contrasts so well to the far punchier Weight – the track I’d associate most to the aforementioned OST – whilst Coward could easily be an IDLES B-Side. ii is no different in its variety either, with the band doubling down on their dedication to recording, mixing, and mastering entirely via analogue equipment to create a sound that is truly their own. We begin with a determined sound in opening track Scribe before transitioning to an unearthly funk in Desire, but before you get too comfortable and start to make predictions of what comes next, Portrait feels like the theme to a timed puzzle in a video game being remastered into a sound that is intangibly intense. Alien and Directing as possibly the easiest tracks to dissect, describe, and access as they feels like modern Post-Punk tunes tinted with the angst of Grunge that would have formed much of the band’s own earlier listening.
In short, Ritchot Textiles are like nothing I’ve ever listened to, yet they have this disassociated familiarity when you listen to them as if they have been present in your life, perhaps in your dreams, for longer than you care to remember. As for where this project goes next no one truly knows, but I can only eagerly await the next release of the Psychedelic-Krautrock fusion to be infused with distorted synthesisers. Ritchot Textiles are the band that plays in the background of your dreams, and I’m waking up to hear them for the first time.
