Thunderbirds are now! - any thoughts?

They also win the award for most amusing attempt to not sleep in their van award. Their Merch table had a sign on it reading "We need somewhere to sleep!" Underneath, in small letters, it said "(we promise not to pee on you.)"

anyone else tempted to shout 'THUNDERBIRDS ARE NOW!' when talking about this band just to express that wonerful use of exclamation point?

Thunderbirds Are Now! – Justamustache (French Kiss)

Hey kids, how’s your dancing? You eschew such irrelevancies as ‘moves’ and just flail cos it feels right, right? Good, me too. And I’ve a feeling Thunderbirds Are Now! would approve, because this is exactly the kind of record that demands borderline-uncoordinated indie-disco mentalism. Proving that Detroit has more to offer than the cronies of Eminem and The White Stripes, TAN! are yet another killer post-punk outfit whose sheer tight-as-fuck energy is giving me palpitations. Six months ago I thought The Departure had sapped my appetite for post-punk revivalists - they’re enough to make you question your faith in fun – but then you see past the fashionistas in it for a quick buck and remember that there are legions of nerdy kids with guitars and ancient synths that love to make their friends go nuts at every opportunity. It’s a beautiful thing and, like The Blood Brothers spliced with Hot Hot Heat and Jolt cola, there’s a geeky, nervous aggression here that is really rather exciting.

From the moment TAN! ape fellow exclamation mark fans The Go! Team by having a female cheerleader shout the band name in the first few seconds, I’m there for the taking. Openers ‘Better safe than safari’ and ‘Eat this city’ are the first of many wiry juggernauts of jackhammer drums, synth bleeps and stabs and tunefully yelped vocals and, instead of concocting some godawful obnoxious mess, they manage to lock us into an insanely tight and infectious sonic jigsaw. Like the legendary Wire, when you’ve had enough of one hook, they chuck you another to chew on. ‘198090’ will have you spazzing out in 6 different ways within three-and-a-half minutes. That’s confidence.

For the first half of the album it’s pedal to the metal all the way, but later on they ease up slightly and start to let things open up a bit, giving us all a chance to catch our breath. ‘To: skulls’ and its sister ‘From: skulls’ are heavily reminiscent of the last Pretty Girls Make Graves album with their minor key drama and shouted backing vocals. Later, ‘Bodies adjust’ is icy electro and practically a ballad, ending with a bizarre percussion face-off between glitchy beats and, um, bongos. Just when you’re missing throwing yourself about though, they throw you the gleeful ‘This world is made of paper’, the most straightforward pop song on the album and a whole heap of fun.

With energy like this coming out of my stereo I can only imagine what the live show is like but I swear, if they ever grace Belfast with their presence I’m there - the dashing chap in the glasses fitting down the front. FAB, Virgil.

are you on crack? NNB & TAN! sound nothing alike.

the title does suck though.

Listening to the record would help with appreciation of the live show, which is a sweaty, urgent, fantastic mess,

man JUSTAMUSTACHE is sooooooooooooo overlooked, these guys were (are?) so fucking good