King Tuff blowing minds

Kyle Thomas is better known as a member of the folkie outfit Feathers and hard-rock band Witch where J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. plays drums. He also has a knack for artistry as seen on several album sleeves (Comets on Fire, Radio 4) as well as drawings displayed at East Village gallery Little Cakes. What he should also be known for is a "power pop" band that's actually glam in the best way.

Limited to 100 copies on the Spirit of Orr label, his band King Tuff's Mindblow CD-R is a treat. Because of his in-demand artistic work, this 2003 album had to wait a few years before coming out but it was worth it. It's believed to be recorded mostly by Thomas himself, in his parents' basement- doesn't get much more indie-cult than that, does it? The music is more T-Rex than Slade and pretty much up the alley of any London Suede fan. The melwing vocals are no problem if you're already a Tom Verlaine fan. And the songs themselves are very tasty. Stomping drums, breezy guitars, well-placed solos and all the important concerns that a good rock song should cover like listening to the radio, falling in love, dancing, etc.. What's more there's not a bad song among the 15-song selection, which is a rarity nowadays. For 12 bucks post-paid, it's a hell of a bargain but don't sleep on this: I have copy number 80 of this so it's gonna run out soon (unless this is just a genius marketing move). If you do miss out, they're planning to tour in the fall so at least catch 'em live.

Listen to "Dancing on You" and "So Desperate" (courtesy of Aquarius Records)