Single Review: Greatest Hits

The enigmatic two-piece Auckland act TOOMS have been busy. They’ve performed at festivals such as Loserpolooza, Hataitai Homewrecker, and opened for international groups Bench Press and Propagandhi. Aside from that, extremely little is known about this band, so unless you’ve seen them perform live in the past, you’ll just have to let their music (and this review) do the talking!

I’d not heard of TOOMS before but seeing their previously released somewhat tongue-in-cheek song titles such as Lower Hutt and Types of Dicks, I knew this group would be worth checking out.

The dissonant guitar riffs was the first to catch my eardrums. Akin to styles solidified by early-Queens of the Stone Age, the rigid rhythms pump, with boisterous female vocals crying aloud while the male chimed in between. The duality presented by the vocals provides an edge; in the verses, the strained and robotic male vocals is juxtaposed against the repeated and urgent female yells.

The production is relatively straight-forward, which also provides that punk-ish, DIY vibe. Admittedly, I couldn’t focus well enough on the lyrics to figure out what the song is describing or proclaiming, even after a dozen listens.

No argument here, all things considered, this is garage rock, if one had to categorise. The composition is simple, with very little embellishments or variations from vocals and guitars. The drums break into a half-time clap-stomp at the end, which further drives one to head-bang and boosts one’s desire to tuck into a cold one to. Maybe that’s just me…

At two minutes and fifty seconds long, Greatest Hits is but a drunken sprint down a hillside then slow-motion leaping into a mud pit. It’s speedy, it’s dirty, and it’s fun.

TOOMS are working on a full-length album, due for release next year. Stay tuned via their Facebook page.