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Album Review

Black Tambourine
Black Tambourine Slumberland Records

Article written by Paul M - Mar 29, 2010

Black Tambourine

Listening to this compilation of Black Tambourine tracks in 2010, it’s amazing how incredibly contemporary they sound, despite the fact the band split up in 1991. This is not just because like all decent songs there’s a timeless quality about them but also because a few of our current favourite bands (Vivian Girls, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart and the Dum Dum Girls to name just three) have clearly also been admiring their charms and filching the odd fuzzy idea or two (Oh, I said “filching”, Tomkins minor...)

The contributors to Wikipedia describe Black Tambourine as purveyors of twee pop, a daft description that could only have been written by our befuddled cousins from across the pond. This is no musical equivalent of the Famous Five, gathering buttercups before settling down with cream scones and lashings of ginger beer. Yes, there are pleasant melodies and floating female vocals, but there are also scuzzy guitars and, at times, prominent percussion, desperately attempting to drown the pure dreamy pop. Indeed though I suspect messrs Lee and Spector would nod approvingly at the 60s roots of this sound, those 80s squawl merchants the Reid brothers and the muffled C86 popsters, the Shop Assistants, would doth an oily cap too.

This is basically an update to an ironically titled earlier comp, the Complete Recordings only now featuring six more tracks. So with a box of sixteen yummy cookies from Maryland to gorge on, you’d be a fool not to tuck in…

Tracks:

1. For Ex-Lovers Only
2. Black Car
3. Pack You Up
4. Can't Explain
5. I Was Wrong
6. Throw Aggi Off The Bridge
7. Drown
8. We Can't Be Friends
9. By Tomorrow
10. Pam's Tan
11. For Ex-Lovers Only (First Demo)
12. Throw Aggi Off The Bridge (First Demo)
13. Heartbeat
14. Lazy Heart
15. Tears of Joy
16. Dream Baby Dream

Links:
http://www.slumberlandrecords.com/
http://www.myspace.com/btambourine