The rustling was so slight at first that I hardly even noticed. A soft breeze slowly flapped at the pages of my newspaper, that morning's Keskisuomalainen. I was tickled pleasantly by an amusing local incident until the aforementioned air--still gentle--became more persistent; that is to say, intolerable. "Now look here, wind!" I snapped. "Can't a man read in peace?" I rose to vacate the porch for less tumultuous climes when, suddenly, I paused... was that a whiff of ripening coconut in the air? Indeed, the firs and spruce across the lane took notice and began to sway sensuously, like palm trees relaxing on a warm Trinidadian shore. I could no longer recall why I had been so interested in perusing that days trifles recounted in print. I felt renewed, refreshed, reborn by such unrelenting tropic breaths; more precisely, I felt like slapping my shins...
...Not unlike, dear reader, the rejuvenation I felt upon first hearing this very record you now hold! I speak namely of the debut by the gallant upstarts TO:TM (which I pronounce "totem"--what would you say?). To start things, and with great gusto, these lads present us with a proposition, "Consider the Gyration." Upon listening, I will consider little else. Guitars twang, saxes honk and the rhythm pops along like a sputtering woodie on its way to a sock hop. It's a hit! Up next, TO:TM recalls us to a simpler time, a time when women wore their affections on their apparel. With "She Wears Her Love," the organ bubbles, hands clap and guitars jangle... our only wish is that the love she wears is for us and that there is more in store on side 2... and there is! TO:TM now brings us the record's first and only proper love ballad, "Hush Now Baby (The Men Are Working)." Soft brushes and soft voices whisper something to us through the speakers on this hot streak til 4! Lastly, we complete the circuit with one more wild ride, "The Neverending Twist." A hypnotic rhythm and orbital frenzy erupt as the group creates a second (!) new dance sensation. When the theremin arrives, it's so fun that you may find yourself lost in rotation. Regrettably, "The Neverending Twist" does, in fact, end. But not without screams and howls of protest as this fine little record comes to its close. The only thing that can be done, dear reader, is to 'Feel What It Hears Like' all over again...
--Färn Chuupsli
credits
released August 8, 2012
TO:TM: Production and Engineering by Ian Bost and G. Sobek
Mixing: G. Sobek and Ian Bost
Ian Bost: Lead vocals (1, 3), backing vocals (1, 3, 4), guitar (1, 3), keys/samples (1, 3), piano (3), xylophone (3), voice (4), percussion (1,2, 3)
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