Presenting: The Tower and The Fool

It's not often a disc comes along that moves me from start to finish. As I sit here trying to recall, I am hard-pressed to think that the last CD that struck me this hard was The Dangerous Summer's Reach For The Sun. Sure, other releases like Frank Ocean's Nostalgia, Ultra strike me for awhile, but the lasting value in minimal and the songs became just that, songs. They don't carry their emotion from listen to listen throughout the days/months/years.

The Tower and The Fool released their first EP in 2010. Drawing influence from artists like Wilco, Ryan Adams, and Counting Crows, the band pushed forth in 2011 to record their first full-length with ex-Hot Rod Circuit member Mike Poorman on drums, and a few other members covering everything from slide guitar to the ivory. Over the year, they wrote, recorded, and produced what would become their first full-length, How Long, released on Run For Cover Records. With a week of listening under my belt, I can't promise that it will be one of those long lasting CDs like The Dangerous Summer, but after first listen, my heart felt like it did when I first heard Reach For The Sun, which is a good indication that this CD has lasting value for me. So, for clarities sake, I will pencil it in as a lasting listen, but due to time restraint and minimal time with the disc, I won't ink it yet. 

With a dose of Ryan Adams-indie-twang mixed with the feel of The Horrible Crows, lyrical content that is heavily influenced by Adam Duritz, and vocals, at times, reminiscent of AJ from The Dangerous Summer, this disc has won me over. It is one hell of a sad record, but sad in a good way. It's not depressing, it's just heartbreaking. Songs of lost love, songs of anguish, songs of brokenness, songs of relationships. The band has started to gain a notice on absolutepunk, being featured as an ABSOLUTExlusive, gaining praise from staff members and reviewers, and threads filled with listeners who are blown away by the bands work and claiming to as a early candidate for many AOTY lists. I encourage everyone to give this disc a listen from front to back, then again and again and again. It is powerful, and it seems like every new spin, I discover something else golden. Below is a stream of the CD, available courtesy of Bandcamp.

Personal favorites: "Dive Bar", "How Long", "Breach", "Scoliosis", "My Heart is Dead in NYC"