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Tommy Gun

Of Roots And Trees

Written by: PP on 13/12/2014 17:06:08

Tommy Gun are a snarly punk rock band from Austria, whose new album "Of Roots And Trees" echoes early 90s punk rock scene with throwbacks to "Ribbed" and "White Trash, Two Heebs And A Bean"-era NOFX albums plastered all across the record. Their vocalist clearly takes his inspiration from Fat Mike given his sloppy singing style, and the instrumentals are raw and unpolished much in the same manner as those early 90s records. You'll find a similar expression with Hit The Switch, Nicotine and even The Lollies in places as the one on display by Tommy Gun here.

Lead single "Haste & Time" is like straight off "White Trash..." by NOFX with its rebellious but ultimately catchy vocal work, whereas the guitars on "Off By Heart" recall material from "Smash" and "Ixnay On The Hombre" by The Offspring. So yeah, more 90s stuff, really, and proof that Tommy Gun sound like the music they grew up listening to by the sounds of it. So lack of identity is an issue, but at least they're able to write good hooks in the process. One of these is on display during "Run In Place", which contains a lead riff that echoes older Rise Against riffs as yet another reference. With references like these, surely "Of Roots And Trees" everything a punk rock fan could ask for, right?

Well, not quite. The vocals are the weak link in the equation. While snarly and snotty can be good, here there isn't enough variety in the vocal melodies, and more importantly, they are not particularly catchy. So they end up just feeling like raw, undeveloped vocals on top of fairly solid instrumentation. They aren't awful, but nothing to write home about either, i.e. spot on average.

Download: Haste & Time, Off By Heart
For the fans of: NOFX, Hit The Switch, Nicotine, The Lollies
Listen: Facebook

Release date 23.05.2014
Flix Records / Wolverine Records