Music Reviews: Tegan and Sara, Tilly and the Wall, Thanatopsis, Tabla Beat Science

Another late-night phone call to India, after a long class on the unity of the divine and human natures of Christ. Somehow knowing that it's 10AM in New Delhi when it's 10:30PM here doesn't make me feel any more awake. :( Besides, a nine and a *half* hour difference? .. what's with the half-hour thing? I hope I never get used to these cross-the-world phone calls into weird time zones ..

As to the music, we have all Ts in the lineup this time. :) Let's see what Ts we've got:

Tilly and the Wall - Bottoms of Barrels: iTunes describes their songs as "totally high school", but they mean that in a nice way. :) It's kind of sweet. Lead vocals trade off between singers, and the whole ensemble sings in decent harmonies. Plus an interesting quirk. One of the lead vocalists tap dances on some tracks as part of the percussion. Fun. :) A couple of their songs have a Spanish flamenco feel. Really interesting sound. Favorites: Bad Education, Brave Day, Lost Girls, Love Song, Rainbows In The Dark, Sing Songs Along, The Freest Man. Plus, I like a couple of sweet songs off their first release - "I Always Knew", and "Let It Rain." Two thumbs up for this CD.

Tegan and Sara - So Jealous: This Canadian duo sounds really young, even younger than Tilly and the Wall, even though they've been at this for 10 years now. I think it's the quality of their voices, sort of thin and reedy (sometimes really evident like on I Can't Take It), the kind where the producer has to double up the lead vocal track with an duplicate overdub delayed a few milliseconds, just to give it more depth. Sort of what they'd have to do with me if I was in the studio. ;)

Most of the songs are about the usual late-teens-early-twenties troubled relationships, variations on a theme, you know? With lines like "Tell me if you love me like you think you want to be loved" and a chorus of "don't get so uptight", etc. Most of the tracks are catchy, with good pop hooks, though, if you can put up with emo lyrics the whole time. And yeah, I sort of can. :) Favorites: Fix You Up, I Know I Know I Know, Take Me Anywhere, Wake Up Exhausted, Where Does The Good Go, You Wouldn't Like Me. One thumb up - for the songs, not the vocals.

Thanatopsis - Axiology: Jazz/Rock, reminiscent of Kyoto Jazz Massive, St. Germain, Explosions in the Sky and others. Primarily a good rock sound, but definitely a jazz sensibility to go with it. Favorites: New Year, Nostrum, Pyre (which sounds like a tribute to Emerson, Lake and Palmer, with a little lead bass and some organ), Top Of The World Ma, Vicious Circle. All tracks made the studying playlist. Thumbs up for this instrumental CD.

Tabla Beat Science - Tala Matrix: Indian drums. Good to mix in with the studying playlist. But to sit down and listen to it straight through... you'd have to be a percussionist to go for that. :) For a change of pace, though.. interesting.