REVIEW: TKTTSM’s self-titled debut

TKTTSM had planned on releasing their self-titled debut on Sumxuni two years ago, but that was scrapped and was put on hold for two years. Now it has been revealed. The Brooklyn duo of Johanna Stahley and Owen O’Mahony play aggressive pop with garage, hard rock, and psychedelic touches, and while listeners may wonder if certain sounds blend well with the other, you accept them for what they are and float away into their trippiness.

If you grew up with Schoolhouse Rock and loved the songs for “Unpack My Adjectives” and “Figure 8″, but wondered what it would have been like if those songs were indie rock, that would be TKTTSM. Vocalist Stahley reminds me of a more spunkier Blossom Dearie with the spunk of Gwen Stefani, and Miho Hatori, and I compare them with her because I’ll be honest, hearing the voice is a bit novel at first but then I settled in it and heard it for more than the surface. “I Wanted To” could easily be a hit song in the vein of The Cranberries or The Cardigans, complete with effective hooks and melodies that will make you want to create a physical mix tape and pass this to someone of interest. Then you get into a track like “Edumication”, which may be violent with references to cops and brains, but the music sounds like solid funk track from a spy thriller before it turns into something that might become a Katy Perry classic. Since Stahley is a songwriter who is getting her music out to the world, don’t be surprised if one day you may hear Perry covering one of her songs. My original review had me assuming the background vocal in “Dear Diary” was done by someone else, as I had compared the voice to being in a Hole/Courtney Love mode, a nice shift in emphasis. I was corrected by the actual vocalist: Stahley herself, which shows even more versatility.

TKTTSM. It stands for The Kiss Tried To Smack Me, but TKTTSM is pronounced as “tick-uh-tism”. What it means? I don’t know, but of hearing their music gives you a bit of an -ism of some sort and it helps you remember the TKTTSM name, then their magic has worked. A lot of pop music today sounds too mundane, but adding them into the system will definitely be a welcome relief. There’s much more than the surface, and they’re a group that will make you want to become a member of their fan club.

(NOTE: If you like what Stahley does here, look for the solo work she has released over the years.)