Flatbasset Radio's Album Of The Week for the week of April 19th-25th:
What Tyrants - No Luck
01. Far Out
02. Muffins
03. No Luck
04. Feeling Alright (I'm Okay)
05. Lean On The World
06. Dancehall No. 2
07. 4's And 5's
08. Scuzz
09. Modern Man
10. What Chu Want?
11. Shag
12. Blue In The Face
13. Fuzz Trip
The Twin Cities are in the midst of a Golden Age of guitar music right now. Between the good folks at Land Ski Records, No Problem Records, Forged Artifacts, and the glorious noise coming from Ecstattic Studios, it's a fantastic time to be a rock n roll fan here in Minnesota.
Of course, this being Minnesota, that rock n roll sound so much better when the sun's shining and the window's are open. Enter What Tyrants and their debut album No Luck. If ever there was an album meant to be played at parties or in cars, this is the one.
What Tyrants consists of brothers Sean & Kyle Schultz and Garrison Grouse doing pretty much everything you'd want out of a garage rock band. At their core they sound like a mash-up of The Hives & The Hi-Fives (The Hive-Fives?), but they manage to stand out by adding a few wrinkles of surf-rock here, a bit of lo-fi nonsense there, and a secret ingredient that I suspect is English post-punk grooves. Have a listen to "What Chu Want?" for a good example of this intoxicating mix.
Lyrically Sean Schultz isn't covering too many bases that haven't already been covered by dozens and dozens of the descendants of The Monks. There's bitterness, there's cynicism, there's love, there's jealousy, the desire to just let go, but above all, there's an unflinching belief in the power of loud guitars and bundles of energy. For my money, "Dancehall No. 2" doubles as the What Tyrants mission statement.
Like I said from the jump, summer's upon us. Don't waste it. Those sunny days and drunky nights will be that much more fun with a copy of No Luck. It's available in stylish cassette form from the good folks at Forged Artifacts or as a Name-Your-Price download on the What Tyrants Bandcamp page. Go get it now and enjoy a rock n roll summer.
