...by Duke Grow Fins rocks. It flat-ass rocks. It's alive, animalistic and tweaks that primal urge in all of us. This isn't a bunch of wimpy, watered-down, pantywaist, candy-ass music. There are no elevator, generic or glossed over tracks here. No studio schmoozing and no endless droning. This is music with a switchblade edge, muscle on its bones and a strong hint of "don't screw with me" mixed into the brew. It's a double shot of Jack Daniels with a beer backer. It's a sideways glance from a sexy stranger. It's a dark, smoke filled back-alley bar, a sultry chick in a satin dress, and Humphrey Bogart sizing up the action. Yup. Rock 'em sock 'em bump 'n' grind ... to the max! Grow Fins rips into your head with tidal waves of radical coolness. There's a far out mix of instrumentals and vocals, displaying a diversity of sound and ability rarely heard these days. The Tommys can pick and drum with the best of 'em and their pipes are reminiscent of the great 1950s and 1960s rock 'n' roll singers. These men can really sing! Their voices set moods and evoke emotions. Any one of them could have a career as a singer. The fact that they are also outstanding musicians, writers and arrangers is the proverbial icing on the cake. Their overall sound is a primo combination of early surf and garage. Remember The Wailers, The Sonics, The Regents, The Kingsmen? There ya go. Take some of those rockin' sounds, brew in some radical surf and a dash of Chuck Berry coolness, add an extra shot of after-hours speakeasy Bogart to the mix and you've got an idea of The Tommys' Grow Fins sound. Cool 'n' easy, but dangerous. The Tommys are:
Jonathan "Ike" Lickliter - Bass and Vocals: After performing in and recording with Brisbane post-punk trio The End, Jonathan played in the first line up of Died Pretty as well as Sydney psychobilly outfit Dobbs & The Ludebakers.
Oliver Laurie - Guitar and Vocals: After playing with seminal Melbourne surf band The Beach Nuts, Oliver has appeared in Melbourne bands The Exotics, Speedway and Shonkytonk. Rob "Viva" Lastdrager - Drums and Vocals: Rob has recorded and toured the USA and Europe with The Stiff Kittens as well as playing and recording with Melbourne’s country rockers The T- Bones. Seven (plus one*) tracks of cool, groovin' fun... How Am I To Know - 1960s garage to the max! Make no mistake, The Tommys are for real and this track lets you know right up front. Great vocals backed by a very kickass trio of musicians. How Am I To Know gives me the urge to make out with Emma! Grow Fins - Hot-diggity-damn, I love this tune! Extremely cool vocals. The guitar riffs in the verses and picking in the chorus are absolutely fantastic! Great drumming, especially the bass drum work, really kicks this baby into orbit! Grow Fins has been rattling around in my head for days. One of the best rock-based tunes I've ever heard, bar none. It would've smashed the charts in the '50s and '60s! Nowhere Round - Let's hit that garage and party! More excellent drumming, vocals and stellar guitar work a la Chuck Berry. It rocks — '60s geeeraaage style! Funeral Creek - Slow, sexy and sultry with a lonely, desperate feeling. Really cool! The Tommys have a sense of where they're at within a song and they possess an uncanny ability to project their feelings to the listener. The guitar picking in the chorus picks up where the vocals pause, staying true to the feeling — not an easy task — but done with total finesse. Great stuff! Thruster - Kickass surf 'n' garage instrumental deserving its name. Outstanding guitar work and driving drums. If Thruster doesn't make you tap your feet, you're as dead as a red brick! White Eye - Way out, freakin' cool instrumental! A double picking delight. I can't stress enough the outstanding combination of surf and garage. The Tommys' ability to mix it up and project that wonderful flavor really gives us the best of both worlds! Pharoah - Incredibly beautiful and haunting, filled with enchantment. Absolutely mesmerizing! This piece is a delicious musical soup of Rimsky-Korsakov, Dick Dale and The Ventures. Truly magnificent! Pharoah is an instrumental masterpiece and showcases the remarkable talents of The Tommys! Ring of Fire - Interestingly, Ring of Fire was also on track seven and began a few seconds after Pharoah ended ... so don't hit the stop button too quickly. Cool cover of Johny Cash's hit. Garage 'n' power all the way. It brings back memories of many nights I spent in bars and taverns that dot some of the remote towns of Oregon and Idaho. Cowboy boots and shit-kicking were the evening's entertainment. The Tommys' version would make a great battle cry! Powerful eighth note ride on the tom-tom and very cool "I'm-comin'-at-ya" guitar picking would bust those redneck watering holes wide open. And no, I ain't no goddamn redneck! Grow Fins is filled with balls-to-the-wall music. It has some of the best surf, garage and party tunes I've heard. If Grow Fins doesn't get your Adrenalin flowing, nothing will! The Tommys are one helluva fine band and they prove that you can have a magnificent trio ... if you have three talented musicians. And they do ... and they are! They call their brand of music "Groove based surf rock". One thing is for sure — it's cool. It's definitely cool!
Recorded at various Melobourne shit pits.
Mastered by Mark Smith at Real Productions Brisbane Tracks 4, 6, 7 Recorded by Julian Wu. All Tracks Produced by the Tommys. Photos Front and Back Courtesy of Glenn Sloggett © 2000. Surfing Skeleton by Dirty Kurt. All Songs by The Tommys. |
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The Tommys' MP3.com.au site:
http://www.mp3.com.au/TheTommys
Robert Lastdrager
PO Box 2591
Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia 3068
fryuprecords@hotmail.com
Reviewed by
Duke
duke@surfrockmusic.com
© Duke 2004
All Rights Reserved
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