This is a decent debut from a decent band, nothing more, nothing less.
Dodgy, non-harmonious vocals, a London brogue, the whole Indie-visual crossed with a Status Quo style quality to their music; The Tacticians finally release their highly anticipated debut album, "Some Kind Of Urban Fulfilment", an up-tempo, pioneering musical venture; never been done before.
The Tacticians believe entirely in being somewhat different in everything they do, they now hope to bring their highly sought-after brand of ska-propelled Indie-pop to the fore, with this their debut effort.
They open the album with an upbeat blast of clashing, flat, vocal sounds (that somehow work really well), simplistic instrumentation, a really catchy chorus and a Status Quo like sonic quality. This is a direct attempt at writing an Indie-pop anthem, but falling a bit short of the mark.
'Girls Grow Up Faster Than Boys' is a ska-happy irresistible track. This time with an acoustic quality to it, again a catchy chorus and now a David Bowie slant to the lead singers voice. 'Hardcore Porn', sounds exactly the opposite of what you expect. You sort of anticipate it to be a vigorous, angry Indie-Rock track but in reality it's an acoustic, light Indie tune. The vocalism changes once again in this track; it's become more slurred, less articulate, kind of like The Pogues in one of their more memorable moments.
The next tracks form a sort of experimental transition passage. 'London's Alright' is a pretty 'alright' track; reminiscent of the sound of The Thrills, but a little more upbeat. 'Size' samples the sound of Blur, but obviously the Tacticians put their own curb on it. Again written about almost nothing, 'Size Doesn't Matter', it just demonstrates how desperate some bands have got when it comes to finding material to write about in their music. 'Honey You Ain't Needed Anymore' show's the band in one of their slow, lazy, manic-depressive, Indie-pop moments. 'Get A Move On' captures a funky ska guitar-riff, and one of the bands more impressive vocal instants.
60's-pop gets a little tribute from the band in 'Dance Like Nobody's Watching'. A funky, danceable, vintage-style Indie-pop song.
This is a decent debut from a decent band, nothing more, nothing less. They're not necessarily anything special, but it's nice to see a band that's trying to be different for the sake of originality.