Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An indie-pop high water mark......., May 20, 2005
Sean & Co got it going on again! These quirky lads & gals (great female vox on this one)come up wiht another creamy batch of indepedent-pop candy. On the heels of some innovative electronica of 'Beat, Surf, Fun' they mine the same stuff here, with stronger results. Plus the signature TC frenetic strumming surfaces time & time again, the opening one-two punch is found on this release along with the usual name dropping other bands as he is prone to do and further that theme actually ape the BMX Bandits on one track (with kind permission I presume)as well as the much missed Helen Love (where did they go?) - who I believe aped the Jam!(Boy about town) so how cool is that?e. Clever melodies and truly fine word-spoken vocals are all the tops, sure to make you smile.
Easily one of the best releases so far this year of this ilk and will make many top ten lists, for those who care. If you like this - check out another fine purveyor of this genre Galactic Heroes.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wayyyyyyyyyyy underrated! a must for any fan of pop music!, February 16, 2006
Despite that Tullycraft make no attempt to fit into the modern standard of 'cool' indie music-- that is, the usual dense instrumental sophistication and self-seriousness that is now in vogue-- they've won their right to the highest praise through the same route that made the Elephant 6 wave so popular: by writing simple, catchy songs really, really well. Id'd almost never think to place this album highly among the Bloc Party's and Wolf Parades and New Pornographers of the indie rock/pop scene, but when I find myself playing it over and over again, addicted to it more heavily than much of what I've bought in the past year, I have to think again; this is a really good album.
Pitchfork, in their usual way, found one trivial point and dug into the album from that limited perspective. The lyricist tends to be a little delusional about the fame and success of the band, exemplified in the very titles of songs like 'Rulers of the New School' and 'Molly's Got a Crush On Us' and sprinkled in the same way about the album ("We're the best band you've never heard", "all the pop-?? girls swear we're changing their world"). It's really very cute that they think they're so popular, and Pitchfork tends to frown upon displays of cuteness or vulnerability. This is unfortunate, but it reveals the audience of the band.. mostly ex-twee fans, They Might Be Giants fanatics and Elephant 6 diehards-- exactly the kind of thing that makes many groan.
The lead singer sounds like TMBG's John Flansburg (which might be the highest compliment I can possibly make) or Superchunk's Matt McCaughany (sp?) during SC's later albums. The song-writing is spectacular, easily edging out The New Porns of late. The band is upbeat and chirpy, with enthusiastic back-up vocals and good, but not daring, in any way, instrumentation. They never get as embarassingly cutesy as, say, Brian Wilson's backup band the Wondermints, and even sound pretty cool most of the time (think Beulah or, again, TMBG).
'Secretly Minnesotan' and 'Leaders of the New School' might be the best all around songs on the album, but it's hard to pick one that's not infectiously catchy. I guess 'Every Little Thing', 'Our Days in Kansas', and 'Molly's Got a Crush' tend to get stuck in my head as well. Definitely a must-have..
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by Tullycraft 
