Tom Curless & the 46% “Almost Ready for the Future”
Michigan indie musician Tom Curless and his new band the 46% put in 100% effort into this sophomore album. Starting with the garage style of “Always In Between,” it encourages you to turn up the volume. Next, “House on Fire” shows more polish, and its the best album’s song. “I Just Wanna Talk” is a narrative tune with nods to The Cars in the chorus. The more rocking efforts “Fall Like Dominos” and “Unexpected Knock” have an early ’80s vibe, while “Ride Along Wave” recall peak Greg Khin. Overall a very fine album that deserves to be heard.
The Yum Yums “For Those About To Pop!”
If you put power pop, punk, glam, and bubblegum in a blender then Norway’s The Yum Yums would be the result. They are a shoutout to The Ramones, The Beat, and similar bands, and the title track explains it quite nicely; “you’ll always have a friend in your three-chord pop songs.”
The perfectly simple punk song structures of “Baby Baby,” are contrasted by candy-coated chords and harmonies of “She’s Got Everything.” Every song hits the right notes on boy-girl romance. And at two-minutes plus the songs are all short, but still sweet. While stylistically consistent, the sameness of the songs can make things a little predictable. However, they will throw you a curveball like the doo-wop chorus on “Say You’ll Be Mine,” or a sunny pop chorus in “The Kind of Girl.” The terrific riffs and solid hooks still make this an easy choice: Highly Recommended.
