Why does “o†sound like the great album I always thought Tegan and Sara had in them, but they never quite made? I don’t know the answer to that question, but I do know that Tilly and the Wall have made their most accessible (and in my view, their best) album yet. As well as one of the best records I’ve heard all year.
TATW’s third release, sometimes called “o†because of the artwork on the cover, has no official title. I’m not saying it’s as great as “The Beatles†or “Metallica,†but it is to this band what those albums were to those bands: A signal of a movement for the band, a change, and a big step forward. It is a delightful, impassioned, and completely unashamed retro smorgasbord: “I Found You†feels like The Cars; “Tall Tall Grass†could have been written by any of the late ‘80s folkies like Tracy Chapman; “Too Excited†is the Go Gos with tap dancing; and all along the way there are bits of Sinead and any number of ‘80s legends. This is an album not afraid to show its influences without relying on clichés.
For fans of: Rilo Kiley, The Watson Twins, Of Montreal.
Plea: If any of my wonderful readers have Tilly’s covers of OutKast’s “Hey Ya!” or Journey’s “Separate Waysâ€, please drop me a line! I need them bad, and I don’t know where to find them!
