Thee More Shallows
More Deep Cut

THE REVIEW

In San Francisco, amidst its ups and downs, you would never expect to find yourself mired in murky waters; here the TMS experience their swamp rock, leading us on a slow-move journey that's at times spectral.

The amniotic loop of "Post-Present" and Dee Kesler’s blurred voice introduce the listener into the swamp where in "Pre-Present" guitar riffs dim the view and brief dazzles created by strident vocalizations make you look up to the sky, but without finding any escape, eventually getting sucked into a vortex of noise. In "Freshman Thesis" the guitar and percussion set the paddling rhythm, leading to the nebulous ballad of "Ave Grave" where angelic voices function as Charon, guiding you to "Cloisterphobia", the background of a murder scene. "2 AM" is wonderful, characterized by an apotheosis of bells and the smothered crescendo of the voice. The journey resumes arduously but serenely with "Walk Of Shame", with silent synthesizers, finger-picked guitar, violins, and the voices of Odessa Chen and Dee Kesler softly blending together.

If we were in Liguria, we could easily compare them to Morose from "La mia ragazza mi ha lasciato", a small masterpiece. The goodnight and final farewell of "House Break" end the journey, drowning the listener in sweet sleep. "It’s 2 AM, I’m trying to sleep."