“We’re a garage band, we come from garage land”.
So sang a certain someone, at a certain time in life and Tyrannosaurus Dead probably fits into that label quite nicely. This five piece from Brighton, UK have offered up a cute debut album offering that has all the DIY trademarks of a lo-fi rock band, including the naming of the album, Flying Ant Day.
Washed out vocals, screaming guitars and pounding drums make for Tyrannosaurus Dead a roaring success. The Brighton five piece is a refreshing experience that best emulates indie rock.
The washed out, melodic vocals seem to be in the background for the majority of the album but this works out quite well, especially on the title track when drums and guitars really jam out in between verses, but then tracks like Local Bullies cruise through with just a plodding drum and bass soundtrack accompanying the vocals but then bursts of guitar scream in and teases you for a bar or two (or four!) before it’s back to normal. I still don’t know if I’m a fan of this echoey, distant production for the vocals as I do love a bit of in-ya-face-screamo but as long as I’m not having to listen to it on every album and depending on the instrumental structure, think I can live with it every now and then!
It does, however, give off the same kind of ambience as a few Kiwi bands like Die!Die!Die! and Cut Off Your Hands have been putting out to good effect over the past couple of years. It’s what I would call a true indie experience -can’t be pigeon-holed into any certain modern genre, so it’s a refreshing experience and delightfully takes the listener out of their comfort zone. After all, a change is better than a holiday…in Brighton…
It reminds me of The Jesus & Mary Chain without the feedback or Black Rebel Motorcycle Club without the murkiness. Every track changes around, so there’s the modern world outlook of The Vaccines on 30 Year Old Teenager, glimpses of glammers Suede in opener Canada and the punkiness with all the power pop of The Only Ones on the punchy track NYKIO, that gets in and out within a blink of your eye. This one, along with Radio Lies, Post Holiday Dead Song and Local Bullies are certainly the standout tracks for me, tracks that bounce along with, dare I say, a touch of Ramone-ness about them. Ok, maybe putting them onto a too-higher pedestal but they’re damn good tracks!
It’s definitely got all of the “gotta-listen-to-it-more-than-once-before-I-make-up-my-mind” syndrome but the more I listened to it, the more I was digging it (unfortunately I used up all my freebies on Bandcamp, so only got to hear it about 3 times!!). It’s certainly a bit tamer to what I may listen to but like The Sidekicks’ Runner in a Nerved World, there are noteworthy aspects of this album that I admire. Although I have noticed that Flying Ant Day is an acronym for FAD?? Probably won’t be in my Top 10 album of the year list but certainly won’t be in the “Whatever You Do, Don’t Buy This Album” list either!
Or I may be completely wrong (about the former not the latter!!)…
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