Throughout its existence, Omaha five-piece Tilly and the Wall has been a band that has shown an uncanny ability to harness a pure, almost manic energy, infuse it with heartfelt exuberance, and transmit a final product as infectious and unadulterated as anything ever set to stereo. It’s also been a band that has continually grown and developed from album to album while keeping its youthful core intact.
The group was indeed Wild Like Children on its irrepressible first album, and two years later scraped the Bottoms of Barrels to uncover a newfound gravity and maturity. With its third full-length, O, Tilly expands in a new direction while, as always, keeping one foot in the realm of utter abandonment that has always been its trademark.
First song “Tall Tall Grass” delivers an acoustic declaration of intent for the heavily electric record.
When there wasn’t anywhere for me to go, I stumbled into deep love with you, Rock and Roll
This statement, embedded in a song about growing up and finding solace in music, foreshadows the albums decided rock tilt, including the addition of a drum kit to supplement Jamie Williams’ tap-dancing feet. An unfortunately out of place guitar riff late in the song is a clarion call breaking through the calm demeanor of the track and signaling this shift.
The blues-tinged guitar that starts off “Pot Kettle Black”, along with the slightly Meg White-ish drumming, solidify the album’s direction with a delivery more straightforward and aggressive than most of the band’s previous catalog. Foot stomps and hand-claps are still very prevalent, however, as well as the chorus-like chanting that have brought success to so many previous Tilly songs. This darker, rock-infused sound is further exhibited on the deep bass lines and jangly strumming in “I Found You” that can be heard over Presnall’s ever-present tap-tones, and in the Revolver-era guitar work showcased on “Blood Flowers” later in the album. The apex of this new rock peak Tilly scales on O comes on the final track. After a quick tap intro the song blasts off with an acerbic, lo-fi riff, a deep beat on the kick drum, and a vocal that seems to channel Corin Tucker out of the mists of Sleater-Kinney’s unfortunate hiatus. The song is the perfect marriage of Tilly and the Wall’s past work and the new edge the band has adopted on the album.
“Jumbler” kicks off a strong middle section of the record filled with some of the best purely pop songs to come out in 2008. Hand-claps rule the track alongside Little Richard-inspired keys and a California surf-rock tempo. It’s one of many tracks on the record that guarantees head-bobbing and toe-tapping from any listener with a pulse. “Dust Me Off” follows quickly in the same vein with the brand of dream-pop that Zooey Deschanel so effectively harnessed with She and Him. It’s easy and sweet, evoking sunny days cruising highways with the top down on a summer vacation. Fans who couldn’t get enough of Tilly’s recent 90s dance-pop single “Beat Control” have something to celebrate as well as “Falling Without Knowing” evokes the same airy, synth laden aesthetic.
In the midst of all this change and evolution Tilly purists need not despair, however. Both “Cacophony” and “Chandelier” teem with the steady tap-first beats and harmony-heavy melodies that anchored the middle of Wild Like Children, and “Poor Man’s Ice Cream” flows like an immigration-policy laden version of Bottoms of Barrels’ “Bad Religion.”
All-in-all, the results of Tilly and the Wall’s slight shift away from their indie-folk roots are positive. The group has kept hold of the youthful demeanor that has endeared it to fans while adding new elements to the music and going in directions nobody would have predicted when the band formed in 2001. O is not a reinvention of the band’s sound as much as an invigoration and while the lyrics occasionally ring simplistic when heard on a more serious soundscape than past efforts the overall end product is still positively charged, irresistible music.
O officially hits stores tomorrow, June 17th.
Listen in to “Pot Kettle Black.”
© Eric Atienza 2008 for Listen In Some rights reserved.
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