Thigh Master
Early Times
Coolin' By Sound

Hey, welcome.... Thigh Master out of Brisbane, Australia! Thigh Master are: frontman and chief songwriter Matthew Ford, plus Patrick Byron, Innez Tulloch, and Hayden Knight. It seems that Thigh Master have released a couple of 7" singles over the last few years; the three-song singles "Head of The Witch" (2014) and "Songs To Wipe Your Mouth To" (2015), both for the Tenth Court label, but it seems (and I might be all wrong here...) this is their first album proper. Right?

Thigh Master's rough and simple indie rock, alternatively driving, punky garage-pop makes me think of US indie/underground bands from the 1990s such as St. Johnny, Number One Cup, and The Grifters, or maybe even making my mind drift even further back, across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand to recall the rougher, tougher bands of the Flying Nun roster such as The Clean, Snapper, Bailter Space or The 3Ds. And, mind you, that's a compliment. Or, rather: compliments. You could imagine a mixture of Ebglish legends as Wire, The Fall and TV Personalities (without the pop drive, though) as well.

They launched single cut "Company" which is a frantic, quick and punky song. Quite cool and catchy. Then they launched a new taster, single cut "Canned Opening", which is an even catchier song. Yes, it's thin and jangly lo-fi, but it's quite lovely in its simplicity. Yes! It's a standout track, along with "Room Doom", "D.D.", and the closing track "Flat City". A more punked Pavement from their early days could also work as a reference, especially with songs like "Hippy View" and "Treehouse A.P.". Even though all their songs aren't golden nuggets, they do have This certain punk-pop charm, a credible sound and some true authenticity, which makes them a way cool band in my eyes/ears. They perform songs holding a certain angst-pop nerve, which makes Thigh Master stand out from their garage, or basement compared to other bands from the genre. As they swerve through their 13 songs in some 35 minutes, I am happy. They could have trimmed this album, cutting a couple of songs, making a short, strong mini album. Then again, Early Times is cool as it is. It all smells like punk spirit.

According to the Aussie blog/mag Who The Hell: 'People in Brisbane like to gently make fun of Thigh Master for opening pretty much any given rock show on any given weekend. But I don't know, I think they're the kind of band you can pretty happily see heaps of times - their sound is a mix of the familiar, catchy and emotionally affecting that's at once comforting and exciting.' (Madeleine Laing, Whothehell.net). Thigh Master is probably worth a night out.

Copyright © 2016 Håvard Oppøyen