Album Details

• Artist: Tomorrows Tulips
• Album: Eternally Teenage
• Label: Galaxia
• Year of Release: 2011
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2011-06-20

Full of lo-fi but trippy moments of glory. "Eternally Teenage" sounds like a relic from one of the 60s burnouts, and that is a compliment. Tomorrow's Tulips channel the insular jaundice of Spence and Barrett, but with an ear pressed for more sane cohesive elements.  Oldish Texans might remember the semi-legendary Peyote Cowboys (lead by Old 97s bassist Murray Hammond) who waded into similar airy waters.

Lots of reverb and distortion weave in and around the vocals of Alex Knost (Japanese Motors)  and guitarist Christina Keyes, whose axe keeps a constant rusty, stabbing tone.  Thirty minutes is enough time here for fourteen songs, all with depth and hypnotic power. Among the most memorable include "Shades of Grey" (which, given the atmosphere, I expected to be a cover of the Monkees song, but isn't), "Hotel Nowhere" and "Livingroom Sensitive." BUT, for a record to really get it on it has to have a few tracks beyond memorable. I'm coming up short of saying "classic,"" but give a listen to "Casual Hopelessness" and tell me it has all the ingredients of one. Likewise the title track and "Lull."

Tomorrow's Tulip's have all the makings of a Great band: humor, emotion, power, poetry and snottiness. "Eternally Teenage" is one the best debut records of the decade, and whatever is done next will be done their own way.

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