Thomas Tantrum

My Space Demo Review - April 2006
Image: © 2006 Thomas Tantrum
By Hannah Chislett

Danger lurks at the close of every verse. The whole experience is like that bit in the middle of a Ryan Adams song where it suddenly goes all Daniel Bedingfield or something, making you tut under your breath. I half want to garrotte them to see if some pinkish fondant comes out, or just guts - because they have those, for sure. In trying to be different, to subvert, they seem to end up becoming tirelessly predictable. 'Pshand', which knits you into its drama and then throws you overboard all of a sudden, ends in a catastrophic, pseudo live-show guitar squawk which makes you go, “shiiiit, I feel seasick”. It delivers you gracelessly into ‘Armchair’, which has its eras of beauty, followed by long, dark years of grime and absurdity. The lyrics are completely obsolete, either ridiculous or incomprehensible. It has something, but it’s more Smash than mashed potato. 'Trust rhymes with Crust' pokes at more of the Cat Power influence I’d heard about. Anyone who labels this band ‘acoustic folk’ may as well have pulled two random words out of a hat. With the ‘kookiness’ of Tegan and Sara, the vocal spassing of Kings of Leon and occasional caricatured English dialect, it’s all about the voice. Without her voice, the music would be beige at best. But I don’t forget it. I jabber all day…“They say the world is one big stage”… and I feel cute.