Total Entertainment
Tusks
Static Clang
Records.
SCQ Rating: 75%
Hold your horses,
Total Entertainment; the smeared distortion and lethargic rhythm locked between
bass and drums on “Little Pirouettes” don’t carry any of the flash-bang
satisfaction promised in such a title. Instead, Tusks’ opening track teases a
crescendo that never arrives; its steady build of backing vocals and drum-fills
tapering back into ether. Once listeners look closely at the cover-art’s vacant
and weathered venue, however, they’ll recognize Tusks are going about building
a name for themselves the old-fashioned way: employing original songwriting
ideas and deft musicianship over ear-turning trendiness.
Perhaps this
quartet’s willingness to skirt the limelight in favour of an appreciative
audience explains how Total Entertainment recollects some of rock’s most enduring
talents: Wilco, Steely Dan, The Eagles and unmistakably something uniquely
their own. Samir Khan’s velvety vocals compliment the band’s expert playing,
fitting seamlessly into compositions that typically breathe with two or three
fully formed objectives. “New To Old Money” provides a prime example of how
idyllically Khan’s multi-tracked harmonies magnify Tusks’ knack for melody,
whereas meatier tracks like organ-punctuated “Wake Them Up” and the angular “Syllables”
emphasize electric doses of bar-band aplomb.
Even when wielding
bombast, Tusks don’t aim for the jugular. These compositions prefer to
oscillate a mood and it’s their instrumentation – how it patiently evolves and
morphs – that opens Total Entertainment to multiple requisite listens. There’s a lot of
delicacy to these arrangements and, when focused upon for closing track “To See
It Through”, it leaves a subtle but thrilling pause in its wake. A very
promising full-length debut.
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