It doesn’t happen very often, but every once in a while you stumble upon a band whose music just makes an absolute immediate impact. When I first listened to The Tower and The Fool’s first self-titled EP, this happened to me. I was hooked, it was the amalgamation of things that did it; the honest lyrics and the emotive music, and the heartfelt tone with which those lyrics were sung.
Fast forward around a year since I first heard that EP and I was sat down ready to listen to The Tower and The Fools debut full length record ‘How Long’, and thankfully, the anticipation seems more than worth it. Opening track ‘Dive Bar’ is a fast paced opener that kicks things off with a bang,it’s much more up-tempo compared to what the band usually employ but the faster pace doesn’t compromise on what makes this band so good in the first place – it’s Americana at its best and it’s a joy to listen to.
The whole album is a mix of sound that comes somewhere in between the Counting Crows and ‘Cassadaga’ era Bright Eyes, none more so evident than in ‘Broken’, a song that meanders along with twanging guitars and the story telling-esque lyrics that leav you with a lot to ponder, and that’s what this album does best – it makes you think. It’s an album perfectly suited to a train journey or a car journey, or that last hour before bed in which you need to unwind.
If there’s one song that sticks out in particular, it would be title track ‘How Long’, a song that tells a fairly common story of heartbreak, but the way in which it’s told is completely unique. The song is a conversation of one man trying to come to terms with his heartbreak while the other does his best to try and understand the situation and comfort his friend. It’s song writing at its very best and it’s a pretty special listen.
While things don’t quite hit the bar set by the title track, the rest of the album is still very good. ‘Valentine’s Day’ provides a much needed shot of tempo in the arm, making sure that your attention remains on the album ahead, while ‘Breach’ is one final reflective moment before the climax of the album. A criticism to level in the album song choices is that ‘Die Alone’ would have been a better album closer than the comparably drab ‘Who Does She Think She Is’, and with the former ending things on a great solo, it would be a fantastic way to end the album.
What The Tower and The Fool have done with ‘How Long’ is nothing short of brilliant. This is a debut album from a band whose members have previously been involved in completely different genres, bringing many great ideas together, and if this does reach the wider audience it deserves, it could define a genre for a whole new generation of fans. I’m almost certain this will be in my top three albums come the end of the year, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it in everyone else’s too.
CHRIS MARSHMAN