Tom Williams and The Boat - Teenage Blood Album Review
Teenage Blood cements this band as finally living up to the potential, a band that surely will now make the step up to bigger and better things.
rating: 4
Website: www.tomwilliamsandtheboat.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/tomwilliamsandtheboat Release date: April 23rd, 2012 Tom Williams has been sailing the seas on his Boat for 5 years now. Stopping off at port-of-calls on the way, to record 5 EPs and 2 albums, including this one, his crew of 5 have quickly been part of a rising journey that has seen them being championed by the likes of Radio 2s Steve Lamacq and Radio 1s Huw Stephens. Instead of anchoring up and savouring the goods of life on some golden beach somewhere, theyve preferred to take their Boat to the tents, mud, booze and sweat of Latitude Festival, Radio 1s Big Weekend, Glastonbury Festival and a BBC Maida Vale Studio Session instead. Figuratively speaking, being on the same Boat for 5 years would surely get a bit stagnant and tedious, just sailing on those same seas for miles and miles with nothing but the sun and the same people for company. It would drive me insane, anyway. Hooray for sea-sickness. Of course, though, Toms Boat hasnt got a hull, a sail, an anchor, or a name like The Tarnished Commander etc etc the Boat that Tom has is made up of a combination of guitars, bass, drums and gentle, inciting lyrics that draw you in with the smooth, polished delivery. Toms Boat is a fine specimen, one that many pirates would kill for. Its a pleasure to go on a journey on this Boat, and best of all its nowhere near the price of a cruise and its much more enjoyable. With their previous album, Too Slow, the band produced a piece of work that felt almost as if it wasnt complete, as if there was a mechanism missing in the machine. Thats not to say it was a bad album because it really wasnt it was just a bit frustrating as the album could have been great but the band just seemed to lack that killer instinct to really make a song hit hard with the listener and remain with them after the albums finished. Thankfully, though, this time around the band have sharpened their knives and the hunting party is in good spirits. Theyve managed to find that instinct they lacked, making this album more complete and incisive than anything theyve ever done before. The title-track, which is the opener, is a lovely combination of pop/indie/folk/country rock that emanates the bands shrewdness at penetrating the gentle surface of their sound with thoughtful, layered lyrics that can be accessed by anyone, making for a real tight-knit feel. I have teenage blood and a teenage heart, the line which makes up the chorus will stay in your head for hours after the tracks finished and the laid-back feel of the track is juxtaposed by these lyrics, which paint images of much less joy and, if it wasnt for the music, perhaps the song would be much more grey. This adds to the intrigue the band has added to their tracks this time around. http://youtu.be/uAFXlE41b2I My Bones has a delicate, soft, rhythmical guitar which is as about as bare as the band go on this album, but its backed up by Toms deep, uncomplicated vocals and a soothing synth section which dabbles in and out, along with a really well-structured drumbeat. Its possibly the most consistent track on the album and its no surprise that its been released as a single. http://youtu.be/QFyPFFEyZTM When me and you are apart girl it makes me feel sick girl opens up the beautifully poetic Theres A Stranger. Its almost spoken-word, a singular performance which relies on the highly contextual lyrics, as if Tom is sat on a stool in a dark bar at closing time with the spotlight hazing upon him. It makes for a track which is both heartfelt and real and also shows the lyrical quality that Tom has in abundance, something which perhaps he should use more. Hes said himself that its the best song hes ever written and hes not wrong. Forlorn lovers everywhere will be able to relate to the track and once it finishes, it leaves you with a close realisation that nothing is forever and romance only lingers for as long as you want it to. The last track, Emily, is a direct comparison to Theres A Stranger. It depicts the (re)birth of a new relationship and the slow, obvious guitar lends a helping hand to Toms melancholic vocals livening up his solid, drawled vocals like a rush of wind. The track isnt perhaps the best to end the album on as it doesnt really leave the listener with a good idea of how lively the band are, compared to the title track and My Bones, but its in the tracks heartfelt passion where the strength lies and it shows the gaps that can be found in love and hate, failed relationships and newfound romance and most of all, between the personable feel the band has and the more detached areas that we find in more upbeat tracks. The Boat is still sailing well, and this time it seems they may have decided on a destination. Its an album that shows a newfound maturity, and the ability for the band to really solidify their sound. Teenage Blood cements this band as finally living up to the potential, a band that surely will now make the step up to bigger and better things.