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Tullycraft
Nobody listens to twee pop any more. Okay, well, maybe you'll find a little tweeness in Sufjan Steven's more precious moments, or the lush romanticism of Stars, or in the latest and greatest Belle and Sebastian, but I'm thinking of a different indie pop beast. The kind that's hopped up on pixie stix, played by cute boys and girls with tiny voices, rough-hewn at the edges, but hyper and endearing and unpretentious. Who cares if the voices are slightly out of tune and they can barely play their guitars when there's a lot of hollering and they've got choruses that jackhammer into your brain?
But I confess that even myself, a former Elephant 6 devotee, have left my Apples in Stereo and Minders albums sit, dusty, and unloved up on the shelf in favor of more recent, hipper trends: post-punk, indie-disco, dance-punk, alt-country, a host of gloomy singer-songwriters and all of those damn Canadian hippie cult bands. You can blame Jeff Mangum for going into hiding or Beulah for breaking up or the kids, those damn kids, for having an attention span that's only a single remix long.
Heavenly and Talulah Gosh, I have forsaken you. Aislers Set, I'm sorry. Ladybug Transistor, please forgive me. But there is still hope; my faith in twee pop has been resuscitated by bands like Voxtrot, Bishop Allen, and, finally, the return of the glorious Tullycraft with Disenchanted Hearts Unite. What used to be sloppy is not slightly less sloppy, but the lyrics are still wonderfully snarky, and the current configuration of band members shows a polish not found on earlier releases. I'm delighted to rediscover that long-forgotten pop rush of the ultra-catchy "Secretly Minnesotan" and singable "Our Days in Kansas." Never has the phrase "disco bloodbath for the ages" sounded quite so sweet. Shake the songs too hard, and joyful hooks will come tumbling out. And let's not forget the back catalog. The jangly "Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend Is Too Stupid to Know About" is a cult classic: chock full of references to other swoonworthy indie pop bands, it's a balm to dumped indie boys across the world. And the refrain of "Twee" is as infectious as it is sharp and self-affirming. Smile, it's Tullycraft! You can keep your punk rock, ska, rap beats, and house, fuck me, I'm twee! Doot-doot-doot-do.
Tullycraft - Secretly Minnesotan
Tullycraft - Twee
Tullycraft - Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend's Too Stupid to Know About
The official Tullycraft site. Buy Disenchanted Hearts Unite from Amazon or iTunes Music Store.
Posted by Queen of the Front Row at 03.12.07 at 10:37 AM
Comments
I am sooo excited to see Tullycraft at SXSW! Did you see the review of their recent show w/ The Apples in Stereo in Chicago? If not check it out: http://www.tastyfanzine.org.uk/gigs52mar07.htm#Tullycraft%20+%20The%20Apples%20in%20Stereo
The SXSW Indiepop Hootenanny party they are playing on Thursday, March 15th at Lovejoys in Austin is going to be amazing! I think they play at 3PM. Fuck me I'm twee! - Mel
Posted by: Melissa at 03.12.07 at 9:09 PM
tullycraft are going to rock the roof off sxsw!
Posted by: adam at 03.13.07 at 10:27 AM
The return of the glorious Tullycraft to SXSW! If you missed them last year, then you missed one of the BEST shows of the entire festival. They were so much fun! Don't be fooled by their "twee" tag, they actually rocked harder than most bands I saw last year. Catch this wonder band.... trust me.
Posted by: David_P at 03.13.07 at 6:49 PM
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