The slack is back! To date, Teenage Tom Petties have released two singles in anticipation of their “fourth” coming LP, Rally The Tropes. The new record, which comes quickly, but perhaps not unexpectedly for a band this prolific, on the heels of last year’s self-titled album, is slated for release on October 24th jointly via Safe Suburban Home and Repeating Cloud. So far, the UK/US-based slacker rockers have given us some tasty fuzzed-out lo-fi treats to chew on.
Lead single “Hotmail” revels in the habit of late-night shopping as a fruitless attempt to fill a void of loneliness and feels canon in the dejected and perennially self-deprecating multi-verse of the TTPs. Wasting no time, the song launches into a catchy major/minor alternating chord progression with a heavy dose of distorted and gritty guitars, bashing drums, and condensed vocals with accompanying harmonies.
Perhaps the highlight of this bombastic and succinct single is the deranged and derailed guitar solo that emphasizes feel and freaking out over showcasing virtuosity. Fiery and thrashing while maintaining a level of pop-induced melodic bounce and singalong quality we’ve come to expect from the band, “Hotmail” hits somewhere on the Venn Diagram between Guided by Voices, Weezer, Ramones, The Creation, and T. Rex.
Second single “Tough Cookies” begins with a slightly more subdued, tension-building verse, and the song then explodes as the chorus is shot out of a guitar-laden cannon of fuzz. A blistering and melodic guitar lead dances over the distortion of the rhythmic guitar dishes out, building to a jaunty and tense ending. The track ends with an entanglement of more distorted guitar solos.
This song debates the toughness and legitimacy of certain “boy” bands, whether they be Beastie or Beach, and shares the long-known truth that “Mike Love is the worst”. The catchy refrain of the chorus is another notch in Teenage Tom Petties’ long list of self-put-downs, claiming to not be “that tough” nor “that strong” and admitting “youth is gone”.
There’s more than enough in these two songs from Teenage Tom Petties to have us chomping at the bit for the full-length album Rally the Tropes, out October 24th.
Written by John Brouk
