New Album from Three Weeks ago - Tarot by Starving the Tsunami

Hi again!

As you may know, we at the blog are perpetually searching for new bands to help quench our undying thirst for good music. It is my hobby and my passion. Actually, it would be more fitting if I said it is my addiction; I may or may not get the shakes if I don’t listen to something new every week. Like most druggies, my addiction has taken me to some very dark places that I am not proud of.

 I have been getting my most recent fix by listening to 80’s Russian post-punk. Just imagine 80’s music from the Soviet Union and you have a pretty good picture of how far I have fallen*. But just as I reached my darkest point, a guiding light brought me back from the brink of despair. This guiding light took the form of an upcoming south Philly band called Starving the Tsunami, and like all guiding lights, it rocked.

Overly dramatic introductions aside, Starving the Tsunami is pretty awesome. Any band that continuously makes me think I am listening to Janis Joplin is doing something right. Tsunami’s lead singer, Teena Leeds, sounds like Janis before her voice was put in a blender. They are not Janis Joplin though; their style is far too different. Their style is akin to most modern rock bands, but there sound is just not clean cut enough to be considered Indy or Alt rock. But their music is definitely rock; I just have a hard time describing it beyond that. I guess I would call them bohemian rock if that was a thing; passionate and intense, but sounding like it is coming from an apartment above a coffee shop (note that I do not consider that a bad thing).

Starving the Tsunami’s first EP, Tarot, is a very good first work. It has some really interesting riffs and baselines that really tickle me in the right places. Also as I have said above, their lead singer is amazing. They also have some awesome solos, especially in my favorite track, “Army of the Strange”. They also have one or two tempo/stylistic breakdowns that I absolutely love. That being said, there music suffers from one fatal flaw; there songs are too long.

Now you should note that I usually take the opposite view on music; songs should be as long as they need to be. For heaven’s sake, “Bros” by Panda Bear is one of my favorite songs every and it is over ten minutes long. However, Tsunami’s songs are too long with each clocking in at over six minutes each. The problem is that there just is not six minutes worth of music in each track. The chorus’s repeat a few times to often at the end. Also, while I love some of the breakdowns, sometimes they make the songs meander dangerously close to becoming “free form jazz explorations”.

So while their music is not divine perfection (really, there can only be one Man Man) like I implied in my introduction, it really worth a listen. Tarot is a good first work that shows a lot of promise (and totally worth buying at $3). I hope that Starving the Tsunami is able to get the time, space, and money they need to put out a full length debut album. If they do, I will be sure to let you know about it here.

Pick up Tarot here or like Starving the Tsunami's Facebook page here.
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*In all seriousness though, Кино́ has some pretty awesome stuff and is considered one of the most famous and important rock bands in the USSR. Check out my current personal favorite tune “Место для шага вперед” here.