TTNG
"On Disappointment Island—the trio’s offered up its most accessible, pop-minded batch of songs yet.” – A.V. Club
"Equal parts Minus the Bear and American Football, they mix cascading melodies, intricate rhythms and distant musings on the minutiae of common life with mind-bending ease." – Paste
"'Sponkulus Nodge' is a heady twister of a track, bass lines dropping down like water from stalactites into a pond rippling with Collis’ impossible guitar licks." – Consequence of Sound
Oxford, England’s TTNG (formerly known as This Town Needs Guns) return with their third full-length, Disappointment Island. Though this is their first record since becoming a trio, you’d never guess it from their sound, which has become more refined and realized than ever before. With their latest album, TTNG have managed to subtly embrace more conventional pop ideals without sacrificing the intensity and musicianship they’re admired for.
Comprised of Tim Collis on guitar and his brother Chris Collis on drums, TTNG’s lineup is completed by vocalist Henry Tremain, who also assumed bass duties after the recording of their last album, 2013’s 13.0.0.0.0. Turning their attention to the studio in late 2015, TTNG decamped to the American Midwest, ground zero for the kind of articulated alternative rock they themselves have been mastering for a decade. Recorded live to tape over 10 days at Chicago’s legendary Electrical Audio studios by Greg Norman (Mclusky, Russian Circles, Pelican, etc.), and mastered by Shellac’s Bob Weston, Disappointment Island proves that the band’s success comes from their ability to write songs whose appeal endures well after the sheer awe of their technical prowess subsides.
TTNG have created an album filled with solemn subject matter where, much like the disparity between the name and setting of Disappointment Island (a real and beautifully unspoiled locale in the Pacific Ocean), the lyrical themes stand in stark contrast to the exciting, propellant music the trio creates together.
As a prime example, the album’s opening track “Coconut Crab” seamlessly showcases inventive, intricate guitar and bass lines threaded through a busy tumble of drums, all lacquered with the sweet falsetto of Tremain’s infectious vocals.
These separate parts recall confessed influences such as the Kinsella brothers’ numerous projects (American Football, Make Believe, Cap’n Jazz) and a familiarity with Dischord Records groups such as Jawbox and Shudder to Think, but the way TTNG fuses these inspirations with their virtuosity results in something utterly unique. TTNG have existed in several incarnations and have found success in each, but their current evolution pushes what has always made the band great into new and exciting territories. Disappointment Island is TTNG’s most poignant, deliberate accomplishment, successfully arriving at a place that is simultaneously authentic and reverential.
RIYL: Minus The Bear, American Football, Maps & Atlases, Foals, Mock Orange
TRY: #2, 1, 9, 7
Download full album here:
https://www.piratepirate.com/downloads/
More Info Here:
http://www.ttng.net
http://sargenthouse.com/ttng
https://www.facebook.com/ttnguk
http://twitter.com/TTNGUK
https://www.instagram.com/t.t.n.g