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Here's another pleasant surprise. Hopes were not raised by the cover of this one, which features a photograph of our Tommy looking unattractively half-asleep and out of focus, with a sharp background featuring a door knob which seems to emerging from his nose. As the disc begins to spin I read in the press release the names of various famous people he's 'shared bills with ' â?? a desperate ploy, methinks. The fact that he is a member of the band of the bass player from Crazy Horse is a bit more interesting. But none of this prepares me for the varied styles and unvarying top quality of the songs on here. First up is To The Rain â?? an authentically sweet piece of jangly West Coast country rock. The tail end of the West Coastal opening trio is Up In Flames, which is top-quality quirky in a Let's Active style. The electricity's switched off for Should've Listened To You which starts out a cappella and features what can almost be called yodelling. The following tracks switch fertilely between the electric and the not, featuring a couple of highlights where Tommy sings with just his guitar. There's also a couple of instrumentals, one twangy and trucky, the other sleazy and jazzy. There are almost enough surprises, and also enough quirky charm, on here to bear comparison to the likes of Sparklehorse. Really.

Jeff Cotton
CWAS #9 - Winter 2002

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