Tom Thumb and the Latter Day Saints

"Kindermusik" CDEP

Three Ring Records

Genres: indie pop, indie rock

Three Ring
PO Box 883123
San Francisco CA
94188-3123

November 2006

That Three Ring label, they really know what they're doing. Kindermusik is another solid release from the young imprint, who can count Tom Thumb and the Latter Day Saints as one of their most promising assets. They boast a mature pop sound drawing from the likes of Wilco, Calexico, and even Nick Cave. Keyboards are at the heart of the band's formula, which builds wonderful melodies over key-based compositions, producing a dusky, noir-esque yet hopeful mood. Examples of these strong songs are the moody opener, "Growing Boy," instantly catchy "Real Small Talk," and "Dark Rooms" with its mesmerizing breakthrough chorus. Heartfelt "Preach" is also completely wonderful, with a beautifully passionate boy/girl harmony ensuring immediate approval. Nothing about the Kindermusik EP disappoints, and you'll be beaten to a pulp should you ignore music this fine.

MP3s (from tomthumbmusic.com): preach, growing boy

87%

Fun Fact: The "real" Tom Thumb was no bigger than his father's thumb.

Matt Shimmer

[Vitals: 7 tracks, 26:57, distributed by the label, released 2006]