Colin McDonald
Staff Reporter
The 2000s saw Omaha, Nebraska become a hotbed of music. Before then, the only band the city was known for was the reggae-fused pop-punk of 311. The decade saw the rise of major indie artists such as Conor Oberst and his band Bright Eyes, known for their emo-tinged folk rock. Or the angry, synth-driven electro-punk of the Faint. Other bands that would hail from this city during this scene are the slightly edgy indie-rock of Criteria, the delightfully dated alternative metal of Through Fire, and the dance-infused post-hardcore of Desaparecidos. Another band that would rise from the city’s varied scene would be "Tilly and the Wall"–speaking optimism and wholesomeness instead of the darkness and harshness that would become characteristic of the city.
I first became aware of the band from googling “bands with weird lineups” out of curiosity. I found myself on a forum and someone named this band as instead of having a drummer, "Tilly and the Wall" employs a tap dancer to supply the percussion role. The band takes its name from Tillie and the Wall, a children’s book by Leo Lionni. I believe this is a great name for the band, as their music captures the sweetness of youth spectacularly.
Now, let’s actually talk about the music. The band’s sophomore album, Bottoms of Barrels opens with Rainbows in the Dark. It starts with a quaint blow into a harmonica, then a loud count off, “one, two, three, four!” Then it blasts at you with loud instrumentals complete with trumpets, layered guitars and pianos, a simple bassline, and the amplified tap dancing of Jamie Presnall. Then everything drops out except Neely Jenkins’ vocals and Kianna Alarid’s bass. Nick White’s piano comes in and the instrumental rises back up. It ends with a repeating of a single line until it ends on a somewhat somber note. We then go into Urgency which opens with Nick White restlessly playing piano chords. It features guitarist Derek Presnall on vocals instead. After that song, which sounds like a dance break in a musical, it transitions into Bad Education. This time there is a Spanish tango feel to it. It is named after the Spanish movie which chronicles the childhood of a cross-dressing performer, their experience growing up in Catholic school, and them reconnecting with a childhood friend. After the intensity of Bad Education, it decrescendos into Lost Girls. Slowly strumming an anthem of growing up and that feeling when you first become an adult and feel lost in life. The album keeps the soft timbre going with Love Song, which features Derek Presnall on lead vocals and fingerpicking an acoustic guitar. As Love Song slowly fades away to silence, suddenly Sing Songs Along shocks you with Derek Presnall screaming and peaking the mic and then goes into a somewhat sea-shanty-like indie-pop tune. Black and Blue comes after with another nice pop tune, this time featuring more synthesizers and distorted guitars. After that, we go to Brave Day, which *gasp* features a drum set. It seems to be void of Jamie Presnall’s tap dancing that made this band stick out. The band slightly changes up their style again with The Freest Man, taking on a more electronic sound with drum machines, and layers of synths. Lastly, the album ends with a slow ballad–Coughing Colors.
Overall, the album is bright–it isn’t afraid to explode in your face with reckless fun, but also knows when to take things down. The album features some extremely catchy melodies that will be stuck in your head. The band’s lineup works very well, and the multiple vocals and often co-ed harmonies offer a twee-pop sensation to the music. Lyrically, much of the album talks about the joys, troubles, and naivety of being young. Occasionally, the topics of the songs veer off into talking about films or about specific people members of the band are fond of. The album is bold, but there is one fatal flaw to the album–many of the songs sound repetitive and alike. After my initial listens, I struggled to remember which songs were which because they ultimately blended in with each other. I could remember Rainbows in the Dark, Bad Education, Lost Girls, and Love Song, but many others I could not remember or I confused with other songs. It feels like the band is stomping (pun intended) to old tunes. One would think Tilly and the Wall’s music would sound incredibly different; I mean, how many bands have a tap dancer in their lineup? While they do differentiate their sound near the end of the album, it feels more like the band is abandoning what made them distinctive from other artists. Such as Brave Day or The Freest Man, which features none of Jamie Presnall’s amplified tap dancing and sounds like average indie-pop. Coughing Colors slightly shakes things up with a slow ballad, but I found it too boring. The band clearly had a lot of potential in Bottoms of Barrels, but they never met it. Although I think Bottoms of Barrels is a good record, it lacks the qualities that would make it a great record.
Score: 7/10
Standout Tracks:
Rainbows in the Dark
Bad Education
Lost Girls
"Tilly and the Wall" eventually broke up in 2011 after releasing two more albums. The band very much stood out in their scene. Even in the indie-pop and indie-rock realm, they stood out with their proudly unsophisticated demeanor. The fun, child-like quality of their music earned them unfair criticism in their day. It did not matter though, "Tilly and the Wall" were stomping to their own beat, blasting happy, carefree indie-pop tunes with infectious melodies and rhythms.
Image Credit: Colin McDonald
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