Tyrannosaurus Dead - Lemonade
(2012 Reeks Of Effort)
"A delicious snack for your ears"
Though the
fuzzy sound quality generated by their almost prehistoric recording equipment
may suggest otherwise, indie-pop quintet Tyrannosaurus Dead is not a band of
anthropomorphic dinosaurs. They’re actually a group of friends from England
with a similar goal in mind: to write catchy songs that are accessible to
teenagers of the twenty-first century, yet strike a nostalgic chord with those
who grew up in the early nineties. Their latest release is Lemonade, appropriately available as both the supposedly obsolete (yet
still cool) cassette tape format and a free download, bridging the generation
gap.
Opening the four song set is the
title track, an anthem for optimists of the world, complete with its rallying
cry of “If you’ve got lemons, make
lemonade!” The warbly guitar tone in this song is warm, crunchy and melts in
your mouth, making a delicious snack for your ears. Buried underneath the sonic fuzz are sugar saturated call-and-response
vocals between singers Billy Lowe and Eleanor Rudge, made even more overly
pleasant by their British accents. “Misery Guts” is another winner, a bit more
blistering than the other three tracks with frantic drumming and brilliant crescendos.
“Always Fine” rounds out the tape, a sparse repose from the gravelly sound of
the previous tracks. Rudge’s vocals take the driver’s seat here, usually a red
flag for fans of lo-fi music, yet fine with me, as she has a first-rate voice.
For connoisseurs of music that value simplicity, beauty and fun, Tyrannosaurus
Dead would make a great stocking stuffer.
