Tullycraft – HHBTM Records

Indie pop icons Tullycraft are back! After six years of whatever bands do when they’re not making albums, legendary troublemakers Tullycraft are back with a new studio album, Shoot the Point. Over the years, Tullycraft has penned a handful of songs that practically define the twee movement in America. The chorus "fuck me, I'm twee" was the refrain that launched a thousand t-shirts. “The Punks Are Writing Love Songs” introduced bratty punk to hummingbird twee. "Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend’s Too Stupid to Know About" encapsulated an entire music scene in a single song. And yet despite this, for most, the band exists somewhere near the edges of obscurity. Occasionally, they receive a nod (like when their album Old Traditions, New Standards was featured on Pitchfork's list of the 25 Best Indie Pop Albums of the ’90s) but these spotlights don’t tend to happen as frequently as one might think. While the mainstream has largely ignored Tullycraft, their status in the indie pop underground is undeniable. Formed in Seattle in 1995, they are considered to be one of the bona fide pioneers of the American twee pop movement. Touring relentlessly during the last gasp of the truly independent indie-underground, they influenced countless young bands. They were once called “the Johnny Appleseed of Indie Pop — making their way across the country, leaving new bands, zines, and record labels to sprout up in their wake." Tullycraft has always marched to the slap of their own tambourine, and Shoot the Point is no exception. This new batch of songs sees Sean Tollefson and Jenny Mears continue to share most of the vocal duties, while long-time musical stalwarts Chris Munford and Corianton Hale are the conspirators behind the music. This is the band's eighth album, and it runs the full Tullycraft spectrum — from tender, heart-squishing moments to full-throttle freakouts that sound like a candy store exploding in four-part harmony. Songs like “Tarrytown,” “Love on the Left Bank,” and “Jeanie's Up Again and Blaring Faith by the Cure” fit in perfectly with the band's stable of classics. This is story-driven pop at its most colorful — full of clever twists, joyful noise, and a healthy dose of eyebrow-raising whimsy. It’s fun. It’s weird. It’s very Tullycraft.