In this week's Homespun column, Christian Schaeffer reviews Team Tomato's new self-titled CD, which the quartet will be releasing with a show at 9 p.m. Saturday, June 30, at Off Broadway. (The Monads and Bravo Company open.) He had this to say:
Team Tomato sounds as if it’s having a personality crisis on its new self-titled record. Musically there’s almost an even split between Americana and big-guitar modern rock – making the quartet perhaps one of the only bands to tread the ground between the Jayhawks and Alice in Chains. But the main problem with Team Tomato is that there’s little crossover between these two styles; either the precise power-pop band or the acoustic, open-strumming folk band shows up.
But lest you think that Schaeffer's completely ripping the band's music apart, read on: He's not.
Every now and then, the group takes something ordinary and makes it shine. “Last Lesson” moves from generic alt-rock into something cosmic and wonderful, aided by synthesized strings and a chorus of “oohs” that could happily go on forever. The next track, “Quietly,” continues the trend with a bit of Foo Fighters-esque stomp and strut...
Size constraints prevent us from sharing "Last Lesson," but after the jump, listen to "Quietly" and the Bowie ca. Hunky Dory piano-glam torch song "Is It True?" -- and judge the quality of TT's music for yourself.
"Is It True?":
"Quietly":
