TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taitung-based rock band Outlet Drift returns after five years with “Masonolay i Cepo,” a fusion of grunge, blues, and psych filtered through the trio’s Indigenous heritage.

From the opener “Youth’s Gathering,” hip bells and Amis chants draw listeners in before a catcall cues guitar and bass, blending ceremony with rock. Guitarist Usan and bassist Putad — siblings — anchor the sound with interlocking lines.

That tension peaks on the skittering, urgent “Song of Martial Law,” which evokes the feeling of footsteps encircling a crowd before breaking into a headlong rush through mangrove woods.

During Taiwan’s four-decade-long martial law era, Indigenous languages were widely suppressed in schools. The track answers by reclaiming that voice in a defiant chorus.

Live, the band channels the same energy in tightly wound performances, pairing ritual adornment with knotty, tritone-leaning riffs. Parts of the album were recorded outdoors, and some tracks catch the soft click of crickets, grounding the music in nature.

The trick with tribal rock has always been how to record polyrhythm beats with a standard drum kit. The music of Taiwan's high mountains and low plains will never be properly recorded or played on any standard equipment rider.

Across the record, Outlet Drift balances pulse and atmosphere, often to strong effect. At its best, it's dangerous, addictive music; at its worst, it's sweaty palm paranoia waiting for the fever to break. 

“Masonolay i Cepo” is the band’s third album.