Tiny Masters Prove Their Moniker
Garage punk is simple. Skeletons gets it right.
Tiny Masters of Today
Skeletons
Released on Jul 16, 2009
When I was a kid, I wanted nothing more than to be a rock star. I was
ecstatic with the idea of touring, playing with my idols, and rocking
out way past my bedtime. Of course, like most kids, I dreamt big but when
push came to shove, I danced around my room and sang into a hairbrush
to obtain a version of my ultimate dreams. Such is not the case for
Tiny Masters of Today, the garage punk sibling duo consisting of
15-year-old Ivan and 13-year-old Ada.
The story of the bands rising success is what dreams are made of.
After putting some home recordings on Myspace in 2005, the band was
catapulted into the spotlight, garnering coverage from Newsweek
Magazine and gaining fans such as legendary rocker David Bowie. The
band's first full-length album, Bang Bang Boom Cake, saw them
collaborating with a roster of impressive and diverse musicians. Indie
rockers CSS and Liars remixed a track, and guest stars Karen O and Nick
Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were featured on the album and in the
video for “Hologram World,” cast as boring adult zombies of course. The
band has toured all over, played major festivals, and still have yet to
be able to legally obtain a drivers license.
Sure the age thing is a selling point and attracts a large amount
of attention. But the twosome has the chops to back it up, clearly evident
on their latest release, Skeletons. The new album continues the duos love of gritty and noisy garage rock, packed full of brash and bratty music.
Skeletons opens with “Drop The Bomb,” a heavy stomp of
guttural rock. With only one song clocking in over three minutes, the
album offers up a tight and consistent fare of hyper punk pop. The
first single “Skeletons” is sweet and catchy, bouncing along at a
frenzied fun pace. On “Real Good” the twosome offers up their take on a
60s surfer style pop track. Immediately following is the noisy “Big
Stick,” full of slinky guitars and noise feedback, showcasing a
rebellious streak as Ada croons along with the defiant lyrics, making
her one of the coolest girls in indie rock since Karen O or Kim Deal.
With a band like hers, she’s guaranteed to break a lot of hearts in her
future.
With the entire album just 26 minutes longs, even the songs that
could be annoying are enjoyable because they never drag past the three
minute mark. Then again, adults tend to over think things, so maybe Tiny
Masters of Today just realized that a good punk tinged rock ‘n’ roll
song doesn’t need to be epic; it just needs to be short, catchy, and
loud.
High Point
The infectiously bratty “Big Stick.”
Low Point
"Ghost Star” pales in comparison to the rest of the album.
Posted by Lisa White on Jul 07, 2009 @ 6:00 am