Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Local lads (and lass) make good, very good indeed!, 21 Sep 2008
Ah, Thomas Tantrum, it's a name that's been familiar to me for some time now. Long among the most popular bands in their hometown of Southampton they're well known just up the road here in Portsmouth too. In fact it's fair to say that around these parts their rise in profile has been eagerly noted among many a young band. In all honesty though, when I first heard them I really couldn't understand the appeal. Vocally they seemed very airy-fairy and musically there was just nothing that hooked me at all. Thankfully though, and not for the first time as anyone who reads these reviews will attest, I was extremely wrong. With this, their debut album, they've come of age, marrying the intelligence of some of their lyrics with the playfulness of their approach and creating something that will, I think, become a staple of student indie discos up and down the land, giving all those worn out Oasis, Pulp and Blur CDs a bit of a rest. Lead vocalist Megan Thomas' vocal approach is a little strange at first, very idiosyncratic and just a little bit twee, but the way she uses it to highlight the lyrics (check out the opening of `Why The English Are Rubbish') is superb, picking out the nuances of the words as surely as the boys in the band expose some subtlety in their insanely catchy music. It's fair to say that there isn't an instant classic on the album, but there's not a single duff track either, rather it's one of those albums where each listener has their own favourite track, personally I've already mentioned mine, though I'd imagine `Shake It! Shake It!' and `Swan Lake', the song The Yeah Yeah Yeah's could never quite write, will be popular with fans as well as the superb opening track `Rage Against The Tantrum'. This then is a statement of intent from a band on the cusp of massive popularity, lets see what comes next!
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Petulant Pop, 11 Feb 2009
Like fellow female-fronted, art-pop rockers Help She Can't Swim! and bubblegum punk- rockers Be Your Own Pet, Thomas Tantrum mine a squeaky, skittish, indie pop-rock vein with considered lyrics and inconsiderate yelps.
There is a Britpop feel to the album evident in its chirpy guitars and Megan Thomas' convincing mockney rendition of Damon Albarn and his ever-present charm. Album opener `Rage Against The Tantrum' sounds like Echobelly, giving credence to this album being a worthy indie experiment, however, opinion will be divided on their true credentials. `Blasé' strongly recalls Lily Allen's socially commenting and observational brand of pop, although is must be said that Thomas is the more appealing option.
As with most art-pop releases, (think Art Brut) the album undoes itself by trying to be two things at once. Part musical outlet for general creativity, part serious music project, the album becomes thin to the point of transparency. There is little substance. Art-pop is a scene to itself and like most art movements has little longevity.
Thomas Tantrum is furthermore a dichotomy. I get the impression I've been dating this album during the last week, rather than listening to it; it's sexy and intriguing in parts, thoroughly irritating in others. `Shake It! Shake It!' and `Zig A Zag' demonstrate this perfectly, the latter of these commendably borrows Stooges-lite guitars and drums to good effect. `Mum's The Word' is melancholic in its understatement and brings to mind what could have been. Less art and more application and they could have had a Britpop cover-version of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' previously inimitable Fever to Tell on their petulant hands.
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