Tom Foolery and the Mistakes
"Take One for the Team" CD
Colossal
Thumb Productions
Genres: indie rock, geek rock, punk
e-mail
the band
Dec 8 - 14 2003 |
Expectations
were high for Tom Foolery and the Mistakes. Not only did
they make the commendable decision of putting a hilarious Nintendo
Entertainment System (the original) screenshot on their cover, but
they also named their album "Take One for the Team",
personally one of my favourite expressions of all time.
But I'm not afraid to admit that this album is perhaps a bit too unoriginal for its own good. The formula is relatively simple,
and it doesn't change that much throughout the disc's nine song
duration.
I'm also not afraid, however, to point out that Take One for the
Team is frequently a very listenable, extremely fun romp through
pop, punk, and rock styles. The rhythms are often bouncy, almost
to a ska-esque extent (but not quite), and the nerdy vocals (and
accompanying lyrics) add a certain goofiness to the concoction.
How many bands can get away with laudably laughable lines like "I
don't think we're gonna win even if I get a broken nose" and
"I hope my pants forgive me for being a shit?" And you
gotta dig a song like "Hey! I Thought We Were Going to Dairy
Queen!," even if it is an instrumental.
Music this funny is frequently annoying from a songwriting
standpoint, but fortunately Tom Foolery have enough melodic
talent to pull everything together well. This isn't
groundbreaking, it's just fun, amusing, and infectious - and that's
all it seems to want to be. When all is said and done, Take
One for the Team isn't nearly the hardship its title
suggests. Dig that.
80%
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 9 tracks + 1 hidden, distributed by the
band, released 2003] |
