Review Summary: John Entwistle ain't shit. (Edit: I fixed all the terrible grammatical errors.)
I’m not a huge fan of TWRP as a whole. I never was, and I don’t think I ever will be. I enjoyed all of their previous material to some degree, primarily the EP’s “2nite” and “Ladyworld” But none of it ever left me as satisfied, as happy, or as awestruck as “Together Through Time.” And I highly doubt that any of their albums ever will again. They’ve always been very good, with none of their releases dipping below a 3.0 in my opinion, but I still almost feel like it was a fluke that this album is as good as it is. Now, I’m sure you’re wondering why I think this album is so good. If you give me another paragraph of explaining and context, I will be happy to do that.
The best description I would use to describe this band’s aesthetic to someone who is unfamiliar with the band would have to be: (For lack of a better term) Two guys in morphsuits, a killer robot and a furry. I’m sure after that brief description, you are just clamoring to listen to this album. And if that didn’t leave you so sold on the album, that you already bought it, than allow me to actually explain why it’s so good.
Let’s start at the beginning, with the album cover. While it’s not integral that this is bring up, I feel like it should at least be briefly appreciated. It’s a piece of retrofuturist art that shows in the foreground, some sort of hallway, that opens up into a scene depicting two people, dressed as astronauts, standing on a beach. In the distance, enormous mountains rise up from a blanket of clouds surrounding their base. The cover invokes a sense of wonder, and intrigue, while still being lighthearted and colorful. It does a subline job in illustrating the tone and mood of the album as a whole, and it was worth mentioning bringing up in this review.
Now, we can finally move on the the bulk of this album. The music. The musicianship is absolutely outstanding, with each band member doing a fantastic job in making each of their respective instruments bend to their will. The band’s singer (Dr. Sung) has consistently fantastic vocal performances, despite singing into a talkbox that modifies his voice to make him sound more robotic (cause he a robot). He also plays keytar, and is very good. Their guitarist, “Lord Phobos” is also very good, though certainly not the greatest of all time. There are several opportunities where he gets some pretty incredible solos in and he does a pretty excellent job as a rhythm guitarist. Their drummer “Haave Hogan” is a killer robot. And he kills it. With consistently effective and complex drumming, he does a pretty good job, but could be replaced, and the album could probably be just as good.That leaves one member of the band that I haven’t brought up yet. And that of course is none other than “Commander Meouch” who is arguably the most talented member of the band. And he’s also the bassist. In fact, he might be one of the greatest bassists of all time. He has a lot to do in each song, and adds a new dynamic to almost all of them. With some of the grooviest, and funky bass lines that I’ve ever heard.
As a whole, each band member is extremely talented, and all of their respective strengths blend together excellently, to create some of the most well made instrumentals that I’ve heard in a long time.
They also have a plethora of guest stars, most of which I don’t really care about. They’re all excellent for the songs that they’re in. With the song featuring “Planet Booty” and the song that has “Danny Avidan” being some of the best tracks on the album. Oh, and that reminds me: I should probably go over some of the best songs on the album:
“Head up High” is the first songs on the album, and it’s amazing. It’s a wonderful showcase of what each band is capable of. It’s fun, energetic, and funky as hell. And it flows beautifully into their next track “Synthesize Her” and it’s almost just an extension of “Head Up High” And it’s amazing.
In my opinion, the greatest track on the album is easily “Starlight Brigade.” And I may be biased, because I have an enormous crush on Danny Avidan, but I like to think that I would love this song regardless. With the dark, thumping drums, and the loud, fast paced synths, coupled with an absolutely beautiful performance from Mr. Avidan, creates one of the best songs of 2018 so far. And that's not even mentioning the stellar performances from each main band member. And all of this combined with some excellent lyrics, creates an extremely powerful, and emotionally moving song.
“Pets” almost turned me into a blubbering wreck. This song is a goddamn bop. It’s fun, energetic, groovy, and Lord Phobos shreds. But it’s also a tribute to the bands dead cat, who died back in October of 2017. And as a huge cat person, and also a pretty emotional dude, I can’t listen to this song without getting a little choked up.
“The Perfect Product” Is just lots of fun. This song has JP. Incorporated in a guest spot, and this song is everything that I’ve come to expect from a TWRP song. One might go so far as to say that it is: (Say it with me) “The Perfect Product”
Overall, this album is at worst, fantastic. There almost no discernable flaws, or at least, none that are even worth mentioning. I could take the cliche route and say that my only complaint is that it isn’t long enough, but clocking in at 57 minutes, I can’t even say that. Everything from the musicianship, to the vocals to even the production, is excellent. This is easily the best album of 2018, and I can’t imagine any other album that isn’t out yet beating out this one, with only a few coming close.
TLDR; Just listen to it if you like music.
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