Tom Thumb and the Latter Day Saints
Kindermusik
Three Ring Records (December 2006)
words:
Deniz Kuypers
Tom Thumb and the Latter Day Saints’s Kindermusik fills me with nostalgia before I even put it in my CD player and press play. When I used to front a band, I would give copies of our one and only demo to anyone who showed the tiniest bit of interest. I even managed to give demos to some of my favorite bands, inscribing them with, “From your next support act!” Listening to Tom Thumb, I am reminded of the hopeful and, at times, frustrating struggle to have as many people listen to and talk about my music as possible—and as Tom Thumb’s EP begins to play, I hold my breath, hoping to not be disappointed.
Kindermusik is a CD-R. It comes in a plain cardboard sleeve with a string of X-mas lights across the front and back. Seven songs, 27 minutes, six originals and an absolutely astounding cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Atlantic City.” It proves to be a small box of wonders of the kind that is not dropped into my mailbox every day.
The songs have that typically intimate and delicate sound of a live recording. According to the band’s website,
Kindermusik was recorded in a church in Maine. Although this does not necessarily add anything to the EP’s sound—I’m sure it would have sounded the same if it were recorded in someone’s basement or kitchen—it does enhance the mood of the music. Andy Arch, the man behind Tom Thumb, writes melodies that sound extremely fragile. They are so bare and simple that you expect them to break and dissolve as they travel from the speakers to your ears. Even the instrumentation is kept to a minimum (in contrast to his debut,
Songs from a Holiday, which was a solo endeavor, Arch is backed on this EP by a full band). Yet, the more you listen to them, the more they solidify, like a landscape slowly coming into view. At times it is hard to make out the words, but Arch’s gorgeous voice alone is enough to generate an array of emotions. Opener “Preach” has a vocal line so catchy you will be humming along with it before the CD hits the one-minute mark. “Real Small Talk” features a chorus that is so tender and sung so gently it is as beautiful as a winter dawn. The EP closes with “Atlantic City,” a difficult song to tackle. Played over minor chords on piano, Arch infuses the song with a slow-rising suspense: one expects the song to burst out into a loud guitar jam at any moment, but it luckily never does.
Kindermusik is a stunning little collection of songs that will unfortunately not be heard by many people. Tom Thumb deserves more attention than he will get, but at the same time, his anonymity makes this EP even more special. Listening to something not many other people are listening to can almost make you feel like you own a private treasure—and a treasure is exactly what
Kindermusik is.
Comments