There is a strong likelihood that, at one or more point(s) in time, you’ve stumbled on the following internet-made-famous tongue-in-cheek exchange between the spicy meatless wings eating Paul Rudd and host Sean Evans in the Hot Ones show.
“Look at us. Hey, look at us!”
“Look at us, Who would have thought?”
“Not me.”
I expect Tom Brown and his Teenage Tom Petties bandmates Jim Quinn, Galen Richmond, James Brown and Jeff Hamm uttered the exact same words after they recorded the first couple of songs for their first full-band, full-professional studio record. The Big Nice Studios in Providence are an enormous leap from the early Teenage Tom Petties releases, which redefined the definition of lo-fi home recordings. Of course, the ramshackle and loose nature was a major part of the charm of TTP and, honestly, I was worried when I read about the whole studio thing. Polished TTP? TTP 2.0? It sounds like a bad idea. But lo and behold, lock up Brown and his posse into an actual studio and, suddenly, you can enjoy listening to songs by TTP without worrying about your audio set being broken or speakers having loose wires. And wouldn’t you know it, the ramshackle charm is still there, the autotune remains untouched, but TTP definitely sound brighter and tighter, while opening new sonic layers in their songbook.
Hotbox Daydreams deals with the struggles of impending adulthood and is full of sarcasm, melancholy, and self-deprecatory humor. Even when the songs are about 40-50 seconds longer than the previous average of TTP, I like the songs a lot – concise indie rock with the straightforward attitude of pop punk, the kind that make you want to pick up an instrument and start a band indeed. There is no shortage of highlights. Trigger’s Broom really sets the album off on the right tone, and the sequence with Stoner (video here) and Greenhorn urges you to hit the ‘order now’ button just three songs in. TTP show that there really is a hit in Dipshit as well. Naturally, Hotbox Daydreams comes with an added bonus in the lyrics of Tom Brown, and I hope the LP comes with a lyric sheet. My favorite lines right now are the ones that start Swingball Summer: “Well, I’ve heard you found a drummer, to play all your shows this Summer, while I’m at home, with my tambourine.”
Hotbox Daydreams is out now on Repeating Cloud and Safe Suburban Home. And yes the owners of both labels (Richmond and Quinn, respectively) are members of TTP, but it’s not like Tom Brown promised them a spot in the band if they’d release the record, or vice vera, right? Right?
Add to wantlist: Bandcamp (Safe Suburan Home (UK)) || Repeating Cloud (US)