You know you’re indie when you don’t even have a Wikipedia page. This very fact has made it difficult for me to follow stoner-rock artist King Tuff. I found my way to the tunes of Tuff aka Kyle Thomas by means of his side project Happy Birthday. Like Happy Birthday, King Tuff is power pop with a tip of the hat to 1960s garage rock. With King Tuff’s self-titled second album, Thomas sounds like he’s paying tribute to all of the best bands of the 60s.
Thomas has a sharp ear for melody, belting out catchy rockers with mad nasally vocals. The musicianship is loose and with a “let’s f@#king do this!” sensibility. The songs are relatively short and simple but still manage to give the listener a proper kick in the pants. Listening to King Tuff is like listening to a punk rocker who decided he’d rather write bubblegum pop. Still, everything here is accessible with just enough edge to keep it from going soft.
I like the bratty attitude, but I think it’s the songs that are the most appealing. “Bad Thing” is my current favorite song of 2012 and “Keep on Movin'” isn’t far behind. This is the kind of album I like to loop and just soak in all the power pop goodness. There’s a lot of albums I’ve liked this year, but this is the first that I “like liked” check it out.
Favorite Tracks: “Baby Just Break”, “Bad Thing”, “Keep on Movin'”