Carrying on from last year’s excellent Unrelaxed album, Tommy Concrete has a new 3-track EP just out called Trauma.
The three songs are fairly different but fabulous nonetheless and only go to show off the creative mind that Tommy has. The drums and guitar riffs herald the arrival of “Diplodocus”, yes you read that right – a metal track based on a dinosaur that’s not called Godzilla. It’s like you’ve entered the realm of the Cat in the Hat meets Frank Zappa with a touch of Suicidal Tendencies thrown in. Crunching guitars and thumping drums along with Tommy’s almost storytelling vocals makes for an unusual but very compelling track that sucks you in, making you grin while listening to the lyrics as your head bobs in time to the hypnotic music that only Tommy can produce. An unusual but fabulously quirky, heavy track, a great way to start the EP.
The distorted bass and guitar leads us into “Trauma” with much heavier hardcore vocals and almost Hammer Horror backing vocals. You can feel one of those slow stretched out moshpits happening just listening to it with its hints of Anaal Nathrakh, your head naturally starts to go in time with the guitar. The drums have your feet going in time as it pulls you in with its haunting melody, one for the heavier metal fans.
The pounding bass lines herald the final track “You’ve Not Lost If You’ve Endured” are pure Tommy Concrete. There are certain tracks that he does that no one else could pull off and this is one of them. The tremendous overriding back fill of drums is offset with some really fabulous eclectic guitar sections. Along with the vocals, they make this one my favourite off the EP, and hope to hear all these live soon.
The lyrical content of Tommy’s music is a joy to listen to if you take the time to pay close attention, with his music layered on top just the icing on the cake. I’ve said it previously that the man has grown so much with the past few releases with a very personal lyrical outpouring at times and this EP just continues the legacy that is the one and only Tommy Concrete.
The EP is out there on all the usual sites plus his bandcamp site for a mere pound. Go on… you know you want it!
Header image by Gary Cooper
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