Album Review: Tommy And The Commies – Here Come Tommy And The Commies

Well, the press release doesn’t lie. My media player tells me at the outset: ‘8 items, 16 minutes’. And that has already put a smile on my face that blasting out those 16 minutes cannot erase. This reviewer is old enough to have been around to enjoy the music joyously cited by Tommy and the Commies as influences and ahead of listening to this album, I was a bit anxious that this might be a mod-punk smoothie: lots of recognisable flavours but ultimately bland and unsatisfying. That idea lasts precisely three seconds into opener Devices, which is the kind of jaunty singalong powerpop Howard Devoto might have made on different meds. The energy level doesn’t dip at all throughout and this album is a helter-skelter rush through the new wave playbook without once straying into cliché or punk rock 101.

That’s the charm of this album. It’s fresh and original, and it’s not even fair or correct to say ‘despite’ the obvious influences. And what are those influences? Let’s get that out of the way: Buzzcocks, The Undertones, The Jam, Ramones, The Dickies and even the poppier end of the Dr Feelgood R&B spectrum, particularly when they invoke the living spirit of Wilko in Hurtin’ Boys. In some of the guitar licks, there’s more than a nod to the bluesy 1978 powerpop of The Motors, Rudi and The XDreamysts.

Every song on this album could and should be a single. There is songwriting craft on display in spades, bags of melody and, fuck it, an uplifting chirpiness that will leave you grinning all day. The Punk Rock Wars were fought for this, for the right to listen to an album of short, smart powerpop/punk that doesn’t last as long as a single Rick Wakeman piece. Here Comes …  is a masterclass in how to do a debut album. This is accomplished and joyful. Short and very, very sharp. Sudbury, Ontario – who knew?! My new favourite album, by a very long shot.

Here Come Tommy And The Commies can be pre-ordered via Bandcamp here