These days, here in the middle of the ongoing vinyl resurgence, it’s becoming fairly common for bands to reissue old albums that were long out of print or to immortalize material that previously only lived in CD and digital formats by pressing it to wax for the very first time. Something that happens far less often—unless you’re Taylor Swift, of course—is a project making the decision to entirely rerecord its material to release on vinyl. Well, Tintoretto isn’t most projects.
For those who are unfamiliar with Tintoretto, the band formed in the Waukesha hardcore scene in the late ’90s as a side project for members of Managra. When Managra called it quits and vocalist William Zientara joined Tintoretto, focus shifted to the new endeavor. The group’s first/only EP, The Sound Of Someone You Love Who Is Leaving… And It Doesn’t Really Matter, was released in 1999 and the band embarked on two tours before calling it quits that same year. In 2000, the math-tinged post-hardcore outfit saw its final four songs in its recorded repertoire being included on a compilation called A Four Way Stop, which also featured offerings by associated acts Managra, Hero Of A Hundred Fights, and Insidious.
And that was it! At least it was the end until Justin Nardy from Expert Work Records out of Colombia, Missouri approached the band’s members about 20 years later to see if they were interested in putting the long-inactive project’s entire eight-song catalog on vinyl. With the defunct band’s drummer Shane Hochstetler opening and considerably growing his Howl Street Recordings studio in the years following Tintoretto’s brief existence, all parties decided they would rather rerecord the songs in order to give them the extra time, attention, and shine they felt the material deserved.
Starting in late 2021, the former collaborators reunited in the studio to put down new versions of their time-tested tracks. Beyond recapturing the framework of the songs in those sporadic sessions that stretched into early 2024, some lyrics were updated, a few harmonies were added, minor tweaks were applied to guitar parts that were first written during Clinton’s second term, and vocals were even added to a song that used to be instrumental. While the sound and spirit of the original songs are there, the thought, intention, and what the band refers to as “polish” are all evident as well on these new recordings.
Today, Expert Work (in partnership with American Handstand Records) released “Dying Days,” the first single from the self-titled Tintoretto album. Another single is expected out May 15 in advance of the record’s June 7 release. The Tintoretto LP run is limited to just 350 copies, with 300 on black vinyl and the others 50 on special edition “Dying Days”-colored vinyl. It’s also available digitally. Whether you’re hearing ’em for the very first time today or you want to experience the short-lived band again in a way you’ve never fully hear them before, you should really put some Tintoretto into your life.