Melodic rock
Two Inch Astronaut have a strong 90s rock sound at times, bringing to mind bands like Pixies, Pavement and Shudder To Think but they don't wallow in nostalgia - mixing in little touches that make sure you know they are living in the here and now; heady, heavy duty moments, great melodies and playful riffage amongst them.
Memories of Pavement come flooding back when you hear the discordant riffage and off kilter vocal delivery on opening track swol which actually rocks out pretty hard when it gets going. There is a fuzzy, static-laden sound to the guitars and the lovely heavy bass sits high in the mix; they also inject some great vocal lines which are nicely melodic and could even be considered sing along-worthy after a couple of listens, it's a great way to start.
Track two Spank Jail ramps up the discord and things become ever more jagged with vocals more on the screamy side, TIA are now flashing their art-rock side and sounding more like yourcodnameis:Milo than Pavement, it's an interesting development and leaves you wondering what the album will bring next. Probe verges on psych at times but still has the off kilter base backed by rock out moments and melodic vocals and Blood From A Loyal Hound feels more straight forwardly rocky; you'll find yourself moving along to this one within seconds. The slow starting Check The Yard builds well and holds a catchy chorus and heady wall of sound along with some of the best riffs (sounding a little surfy at times) and vocals of the record, this tune is a real winner.
This record is the sound of a band finding their sound but having great fun doing it and there are some really killer moments to be had - when their sound comes together it does so very, very well indeed and some tracks just have to be played twice in a row before you can move on to the next. The album keeps you hooked until the end to find out what they'll produce next and then makes you want to come back again to hear those moments that you liked so much the first time; when you do it grows on you each time.