100 Bands in 100 Days Presented by Verity Credit Union — Day 36: Lo Tom

Please check out Verity Credit Union, our great partner in the 100 Bands in 100 Days local music showcase.

Artwork by Seattle-area painter E.R. Saba

Music fans of the Pacific Northwest, get ready for our fourth annual year-end daily local music showcase, 100 Bands in 100 Days, where every day until December 31st, we’re showcasing a new band or artist you have to know about, presented by Verity Credit Union. Make sure you are checking the #100Bands100Days hashtag at Twitter on the daily to stay on top of all the bands featured and make sure to follow Verity on Twitter and NW_Music_Scene as well. Some days the featured act could be an established and locally-adored northwest-based musician and other times they could be a band with a small following that just hasn’t had their deserved time in the sun yet. Either way, we’re fairly confident you can come away from this daily segment with plenty of new favorites. Today’s featured artist is Lo Tom.  

 

Back in July of this year we reviewed the debut album from a new Seattle super-group called Lo Tom. The album is full of catchy, infectious indie rock tunes and is among our favorite releases of the year so far. At the time we called it an “indie-rock gem” and we stand by that assessment.

Here’s some of what we said about the album in our review:


Their self-titled debut album (out now, courtesy of Barsuk Records) has seasoned depth, lived in confidence, and not surprising, the “hits”. Lo Tom features the talented David Bazan, Trey Many, Jason Martin, and TW Walsh. If those names fall short, try Pedro the LionStarflyer 59Velour, or The Soft Drugs. In less than 29 minutes, this 2014 formed rock quartet craftily cooks eight songs ready for savoring. There’s no appetizers or dessert. The menu may read light on paper, but when consumed, your body and soul will be pleased.

The album opener “Covered Wagon” showcases the band’s urgency, as does the ruckus-fueled “Another Mistake,” where Bazan sings, “every single one of you is an American man/every single one of you had better raise their right hand.” The trouble swells until ending abruptly with an expletive. “Overboard” is a darling pop gem set in motion by Many’s crisp hi-hat shifts, Bazan’s register, and twin guitar attacks. The enigmatic “don’t stop on account of me, I’m not living there anymore,” could point to anything, but fans of Bazan will connect the dots to his overtly Christian past. Closer, “Lower Down,” is jam anthem material, with its slow, cathartic release, punctuated by the interplay of stop and go time keeping from Many and princely guitar solos from Martin and Walsh.

Lo Tom has an easy, lived in quality, where generous insights, cryptically political ruminations sound dead on with repeat listens. Yes, on the surface, Lo Tom isn’t pushing any blatantly direct statements, but peel the onion and you’ll find a band offering vision on how to build and protect your tower all the while insisting it needs to crumble. This earned wisdom points to the crystallized intellect of music veterans who seem content in the labyrinth of life, deeming a dog wearing shades album cover even more poignant than imagined.


(Listen below to the album via Bandcamp and you can get more info about Lo Tom at the website HERE or at the Barsuk Records website HERE.)


Submissions for 100 Bands in 100 Days are still open to any Pacific Northwest band interested in submitting. If you would like to submit for a chance to be featured in this segment, consult this link for more information on how you can do so.


A huge shoutout to Verity Credit Union for doing so much for the music community and for being such a great partner. 

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