It takes some juice to get a debut album released by an indie label with national profile so if you’ve never heard of Tough Age here’s the part where you learn it was formed by Jarrett K.
fellow with a long history in bands such as Korean Gut, Apollo Ghosts, and others. He recruited a guitarist and bass player, then called up the drummer from his Minutemen cover band, all of whom comprise what has been described as a “dream team” of Vancouver veterans. Jarrett’s songs are all up-tempo and generally examine personal problems (breakups, identity crisis, all that stuff), though the vocals are sometimes muddled enough to demand close listening in order for the words to become obvious. “The Heart of Juliet Jones” sees Tough Age take a crack at a more swinging beat that evokes the stereotypical sock hop people my age were never alive to experience, and it’s definitely the one that stuck out for me after a couple of listens. “Cocaine Vouchers” and “Sea of White” are a couple of other strong ones, and not just because some witty poet could have fun associating their respective titles.
All in all, this is a decent collection of jangly, emotional pop songs. The tone of the album changes little from beginning to end, and when that’s the case in pop music there are usually two truths worth remembering: 1) those who are digging it will listen closely enough to pick out the idiosyncrasies that make it meaningful for the band, and by extension themselves; 2) those who aren’t into the sound will be quick to dismiss it as pedestrian and predictable, as though nobody ever likes such things in pop music. (Mint, tough-age.bandcamp.com/) Daniel Emberg