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'Sing Songs Along'
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Network Television Debut on Devid Letterman 'Bad Education'
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Like Sal Paradisethey identify with those who burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow Roman candles. They present poetic, breathless chronicles of friends and lovers The New York Times
a jaunty slice of Nebraska-bred indie pop that, with its meld of male-female harmonies, acoustic guitars and clicking heels, is alternately sardonic and inspiring. Paper
It will make tapdancing fools of us all. Magnet
Sometimes you just cant hold back the river.
So goes one of the refrains on the very first song found on Tilly and the Walls newest album, Bottoms of Barrels, the follow-up to 2004s critically-acclaimed Wild Like Children. In nearly two years since Wild Like Childrens release, it has been inevitable that a band as unique as Tilly and the Wall, like that old aforementioned river, would charge forth towards greatness, turning frowns upside down and winning legions of fans along the way. Bottoms of Barrels is the culmination of such a journey a gushing, sparkling tour de force of energy, excitement and a million sounds rushing to greet you all at once. Yes, it seems Tilly and the Wall has certainly arrived and were thrilled to have them back.
Recorded with AJ Mogis over three weeks in their hometown of Omaha, NE, the songs on Bottoms of Barrels pick up where Wild Like Children left off. Theres more tapping, more voices, more hand claps, more exuberance, more harmonies, more, more, more. The band spent 2004 and the bulk of 2005 on the road with the likes of Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley, The Go! Team and more, stirring up melody fragments along the way. The songs finally became whole while the band spent summer 05 in a residency at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in Omaha, one of the leading artist-in-residence centers in the country. In honor of the bands tradition of doing things their own way, its fitting that Tilly and the Wall were the first band to ever be accepted into the program. Once the songs were written and studio-ready, the band found a wider variety of instruments than ever before at their nimble fingertips, and began to experiment. The result is a mixture of guitars, keyboards, trumpets, cellos, percussion, xylophones, a choir from University of Nebraska called Trip the Light Fantastic, drums and, of course, the sound of percussionist Jamie Williams feet tap-tap-tapping away.
Bottoms of Barrels tells tales of fragmented love, rousing up your courage, the reckless abandon of following a spontaneous idea, standing up for the things you love. The albums first single, Bad Education, is the finest use of flamenco dancing within the context of a rock album, while Black and Blue is a lovelorn song of devotion, proclaiming I want to know everything about you! with increasing intensity as the key changes, the harmonies grow tenfold, and the voices of singers Neely Jenkins and Kianna Alarid ring like alarms. Lost Girls is classic Tilly, starting with guitarist Derek Pressnalls broad, country-tinged chords, while The Freest Man runs wild with keyboardist Nick Whites New Order-esque keyboard line and a squiggly electronic drum beat bolstering Jamies taps. And lastly, Coughing Colors is the one and only piano ballad Tilly and the Wall has ever recorded, telling a story of a girl lost and now found, paving her own way through the world, and the people that stand by her, very much like our five musical friends from Omaha.
With Bottoms of Barrels the Tillys taking their signature sound to
the next level. The choruses are more rousing, the tapping more intense,
the instrumentation fuller, each sound painting broad brushstrokes across
your speakers. Longtime friend Nate Walcott contributes a bit of trumpet,
while other friends have added drums, bass, accordion and cello. Acou-
ple of tracks even feature the vocal stylings of University of Nebraskas
choir Trip the Light Fantastic, bolstering Neely and Kiannas dulcet har-
monies. In short, Bottoms of Barrelsis an album that continues to set Tilly
and the Wall apart from all of their indie pop peers, and is guaranteed to
make you love them even more than you probably already do. We promise.
Track Listing:
1. Rainbows in the Dark
2. Urgency
3. Bad Education
4. Lost Girls
5. Love Song
6. Sing Songs Along
7. Black and Blue
8. Brave Day
9. The Freest Man
10. Coughing Colors
