TIM AND THE SPACE CADETS “THE GREATEST PARTY EVER”
The Sound: Think Jimmy Eat World, circa “Static Prevails” and “Clarity”; super polished late-90’s-style emo/indie rock, with a grade school context.
In the Cafeteria, They Sit With: SteveSongs, The Jimmies, The Terrible Twos, Justin Roberts
Best Moments: “Superhero” is the kind of song every kid’s artist dreams of writing; catchy and funny with dramatic tempo changes and extremely visual lyrics. The wishful thinking climactic phrase “…and then I’m going to get the girl” is so spot on in 10-year old pretend play that I recoil at the thought of myself at that, um let’s just call it, awkward age.
The title track is a killer 3:45 minutes. Unfortunately, the song is 4-minutes long. The gap? That would be the trio of Meat Loaf-esque chorus build-ups. I’m simply not prepared to think of “Bat Out of Hell” when listening to kid’s music…or any other kind of music for that matter. Otherwise, “The Greatest Party Ever” is a fantastic jam about, well, the greatest darn party ever and we’ve all been to one of those shindigs we hoped would never end, no?
For any parent who’s been invited to partake in some crazy, decidedly homemade contest where the rules are in constant flux and the outcome is anything but definitive, Tim and the Space Cadets melodic synth-rock gem “New Game” will undoubtedly induce wide, knowing smiles and plenty of toe taps.
Bonus Thoughts: Listen to 3 of the 5 tracks right here.
Bonus Bonus Thought: Enjoy the fantastic, film-quality video for “Superhero”:
Okay, Time to Wrap it Up with a Nice Little Bow: This 16-minute, 5-song EP is a very solid debut effort from a band with strong roots in the kindie rock world (Tim Kubart and Matt Puckett are both formerly of The Jimmies, but fear not the split was amicable as Zooglobble recently discovered). Tim and the Space Cadets possess an uncanny ability for the radio-friendly, time will only tell if they have a similar knack for mining the emotional landscape of childhood (as well as parenthood). If they do, you may very well be looking at, and listening to, the next Justin Roberts.
Download the EP for only $4.99 from CDBaby. It’ll be a well spent fiver, trust me.
*The Tim and the Space Cadets “The Greatest Party Ever” CD was provided to OWTK for review. The opinions expressed above are unbiased and true – no arm twisting took place in the review process.
