Let me introduce you to Flint, Michigan’s Tamarack, which features Tanner Morgan (vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass guitar) and Braden Erard (percussion). Their new album Room Service! appears to be their debut full-length, following 2024’s Velveteen EP. It’s a ten-song affair: six brand new tunes plus four songs originally written for another EP but never released due to general unhappiness with the recordings. Coincidentally (or not!), several of these rerecorded tracks are among my favorites on Room Service!

The opening duo of Window Pane and Everything You’ve Heard give off that college rock vibe of a band understating its appeal, delivering melodies so casually you almost overlook how well written and effective they are. Hearing The Byrds, Bob Dylan, the Beach Boys, and Alex Chilton namedropped in a chorus tells you some of what to expect from this record (good rhyming, by the way). Another rerecorded song is Surfin ’63, which offers an enticing mix of slacker indie rock and surf rock. Of the truly new songs, the jangly Right Into You (I’ll Bloom) and Tangerin stand out, while Couldn’t Believe (Never Tell) reminds me of the songwriting and delivery of Shane Dupuy from Laika’s Orbit – which I love.

Throughout it all, Tamarack present themselves as a lo-fi and jangly indie rock outfit with fine ideas and even better songs.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp