When punk music is recorded in a studio environment, aesthetic considerations, including fidelity, saturation, and how “involved” the production is, become million-dollar questions. We’re now somewhere around fifty years removed from the earliest days of the genre, and I maintain that there isn’t a single way to go about it. Is punk something raw and unrefined by definition? Is political messaging by itself enough? What hallmarks are essential? Every punk production has to answer these questions for itself. That said, in the case of TVOD and their new album Party Time, I have to say I quite enjoyed how they went about it. The way Tyler Wright and company approached their production, songwriting, and arranging translated to nearly thirty-three minutes of ironic and political messages elevated by good vocal arrangements, fuzzy guitars, 80s-style synths, and driving drum beats.
Prior to release day, Wright himself told PAN M in an interview, “I think listeners can expect a wider range of genres this time, not just classic guitar power chord punk.” Indeed, there are more than a few post-punk influences at play here, including what sounds like Talking Heads, The B52s, and perhaps The Strokes with the way the vocals are sometimes EQ’d. My favourite selections from Party Time have to include “Super Spy” with its suspended guitar chords and chorus effect; “Party Time” with its group vocals, catchy chorus, and caricaturization of house parties; as well as “Uniform” with its drab description of working life and the commodification of musicians.
TVOD is, of course, a band that tours relentlessly (I think they’re in Europe at the time of writing this), as well as a band who highly values the relationships they foster with their audiences on each of their stops. However, it’s great to see that their first studio full-length wasn’t half-baked as a result. Quite the opposite, in fact. To sum it up: Party Time is well put together, has an interesting range of styles within the umbrella of post-punk, and contains a heaviness that does approximate their live energy pretty closely. Go check it out. And then try to catch them in a city near you.
