[3/5] San Diego instrumentalists Tristeza spent much of the time recording En Nuestro Desafio commuting back and forth across the U.S./Mexico border, and that sense of displacement comes through on these nine brief impressions of nothingness. (The accompanying DVD echoes this theme in artful sketches of travel and movement.) It's rare for a band playing this style of meandering, instrumental avant-garde rock to remain so focused (most of the songs clock in under three minutes), and that constraint has its pluses and minuses. Halfway through, "Swoop Me Up" introduces the album's most compelling snare motif, but the song passes like a fleeting daydream. Perhaps that's the point-at the intersection of nowhere and ephemera, impulsiveness is a virtue. It's only on the title track that Tristeza give their underwater echo grooves time to fully materialize, flirting with a brooding tension and hinting at a release that is never entirely fulfilled. (BETTER LOOKING; betterlookingrecords.com) Luke O'Neil
 Official Website: http://www.betterlookingrecords.com
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