Tom Thumb & The Latter Day Saints CD Review

Tom Thumb & The Latter Day Saints
Kindermusik
(Three Ring)

Tom Thumb and his New England-based cohorts locked themselves into a Maine studio for this EP, and produced the sound of winter coats.

Despite the frigid conditions in which Kindermusik was created, the seven songs on it exude the warmth of a singer-songwriter working with his band, instead of one directing it. Thumb gives the appearance of a non-throaty, late-night Paul Westerberg with wailing dashes of Jeff Buckley (“Real Small Talk”) and other candlelit souls like Dolorean, Shearwater, and Ryan Adams (obviously the Westerberg side). A vague familiarity pervades the disc — abetted by a shadowy cover of “Atlantic City” — making this more mini-album than EP, though it does establish some boundaries: Thumb’s a lesser pop singer (“Preach”) than awakened crooner (“Growing Boy”), yet it’s a hell of a start.

7

— Steve Forstneger

Click here to download “Growing Boy.”

Category: Spins, Weekly