Rituals, the newest band on the Tacoma music circuit, features an impressively versatile trio of musicians: Matty McBride on guitar, vocals, keyboards and samples; Elliott Snyder on drums, guitar, and vocals; and Cullen Eisner-Terrill on drums, keyboards, and vocals. I really appreciate bands that can multitask the way Rituals does. Their proficiency with a wide range of instruments is reflected in their new EP, Color Tape, which they finished recording in the last week of October. It’s a dark, dreamy space-ride through a tonal-textural rainbow, due in part to the enormous variety of sounds present on the record. Every tone on Color Tape is meticulously hand-crafted (for example, the downright bizarre pitch-shifted and filtered drums on track three), but the record still comes across as raw and natural. The samples, rather than overwhelming the songs, are free to breath within each track. Track two begins with an eerie vocal sample that's deliberately out of time with the underlying bass throb; over the vocals and bass you can hear Cullen's guitar, effected to the point of sounding like an orchestra section. Live, the band is much less cerebral, but still exploratory and exciting. McBride’s wail is distinctly Ian Curtis-esque and Snyder is easily one of the best drummers in Tacoma. They'll be playing at the Dear Records Christmas show in December. Be sure to see them.