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Sometimes all you need is for a record to rock. I mean, like, really rock. Tullycraft somehow captures the energy of my youth with the indifference of my older years and puts it to music in the best way possible. Everyone in this band sings (which I enjoy) and though Tullycraft has this pop rock / twee sound they do manage to stand on their own as well, as this is a unique release where it's "If you like the genre, you'll like them but they're not quite the genre"
One of the aspects of my reviewing music that I'm trying to change is that I feel like I have too high of expectations at times. Now, this of course is in a strange way (because I'm typing it) but I think it happens over time when you write about music for long enough. Sometimes it can be as simple as seeing a song title and think "Oh, I hope it's a cover of this other song I know with the same title" and then being kind of bummed when it's not. Is that just me because I'm jaded and a writer or does everyone who loves music feel that way sometimes too?
Well, a positive example of this is seeing the song on here called "We Couldn't Dance to Billy Joel". Before ever pressing play, my hope beyond hope was that it wasn't just a "clever song title" and that the song would actually make some sort of reference to Billy Joel. Now, as I've listened to this record more times through than I needed to for this review, I can admit that the song does indeed carry that title into the chorus. That is above and beyond what I could have expected, Tullycraft (I would have taken a shout out to "Piano Man") and it just shows how exceptional of an album this truly is.
Tullycraft have that way about them, as all great artists do, where you listen to this record a few times and think about who it might sound like- names like Architecture in Helsinki and Float Here Forever come to mind. But the more you listen to it, the further you stray from the idea of being able to put your finger on who it sounds like and you just end eventually accepting that it sounds like Tullycraft and you go forward, comparing other artists with them. It's kind of like how you would level up in a video game I suppose.
"Goldie and the Gingerbreads" (which should probably be a band name, if it doesn't make you think of Casper & the Cookies) has this fast rocking part at the end which just makes me think that this is on another level from twee but you should really decide for yourself. I also enjoy that in the fifth song they mention trading tapes and, you know, if anyone out there wants to ever trade tapes (You send me something, I send you something back, etc.) just hit me up cause I have duplicates and things I think people might like to hear or whatever.
One of the best songs not just on this album but possibly ever is called "It's Not Explained, It's Delaware" and as with the Billy Joel song before it, yes, they sing that line in the chorus and it is just oh so unbelievably great. If I was in the business of radio/music video and all that I'd put "Hearts at the Sound" out there as a single for sure and the titular track just makes me feel like Tullycraft should somehow do the soundtrack to a Wes Anderson movie (and perhaps the best Wes Anderson movie ever)
Lately I've been listening to music which I describe as "dreamy" and "bliss", which isn't bad because that can come out in many different forms. It's really become one of those types of tags like "rock", where you can just apply it to sounds without them even sounding that similar. The difference between many of these artists I've listened to, even as recently as this year alone, and Tullycraft is that there's this punk energy underneath these songs. It just clicks together in this way that makes you happy but also kind of want to riot and I truly believe that's what life should be about.
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