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Tommygun:
Cranes and Camels EP
Tommyguns new EP, Cranes and Camels, is one of the most unusual spans of 25 musical minutes Ive heard recently, primarily because it shifts abruptly on a song-by-song basis from one style of rock to another. Sometimes thats a very good thing, like when a gritty, almost creepy analog-sounding keyboard (or is that a heavily effected guitar?) makes a startling solo intro to track two after the fairly no-frills drums-bass-guitar of track one had you thinking this would be a pretty straightforward alt-rock album. Other times, however, the strange stylistic forays dont work, and the eccentric Tommygun ends up in some rather unappealing places. Perfect example: the god-awful track three, a seriously misshapen love-child of Led Zeppelin (post-Bonham) and Yes featuring drugged up, dying cat vocals and synth organ presumably left over from the Hair soundtrack. The question is, how does Tommygun expect us to move from there to track four, a very modern rock-style dirge that not only brings us back to the right decade, but features excellent bass work, perfectly minimalist guitar, and expressive hi-hat-heavy drumming, all reminiscent of the excellent but insufficiently known Flin Flon? And further still, how is it that Tommygun should then choose the following track which is also the EPs last to show off (a little too well) the classical piano training of the bands keyboardist/bassist? This all-instrumental closer just plods along, the guitarist sometimes shadowing the cloying keys part and thereby only further enhancing its busy, treacly, out of place feel. But lets backpedal to two of the discs strongest entries. Track one, as mentioned above, is a solid alt-rock number that really shows off the bands ability to blend high-speed, driving beats with strong melodic guitar riffs (think a far less rough Superchunk meets Interpol). The groups male singer is also at his best here, sticking to a straight-ahead shout/sing style that suits him perfectly. Track two, meanwhile, demands attention right off the bat with that aforementioned analog synth, but a solid vocal performance (handled by the bands female singer) and a murky PJ Harvey-style atmosphere mean that the song comes off as much more than a gimmick. In fact, this is an impressively dark and brooding mini-epic, stretching out for several minutes but never losing its way. Tommygun clearly has some goods to deliver when it comes to sweaty, melodic punk and dark pop, but it most certainly needs to jettison some of its tackier tendencies. If the North Carolina trio can tame its Geddy Lee, Robert Fripp, and classical piano leanings and tighten up the back-to-basics communication on display in the strongest numbers here, it may be able to keep from wandering all over the map on future releases. And thatll help keep our attention.
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