Forget Thee Tsunamis are three beautiful women. Forget the band’s affiliation with the retro-vibes of Southern Indiana. It’s best to forget all pretense and expectations, because A Goodbad Man is Hard to Find is the sort of gnarly, dirty rock and roll the Dum Dum Girls wish they could engage. Elements of classic bubblegum and surf rock feel warm and familiar, wrapping themselves around the tape’s best cornerstones (“Way Out West,” “Goner,” “Pussy Cat”) but the punky urgency of Betsy’s vocals and the country feedback cool of Sharlene’s drumming and Josie’s bass feel new and electric. It’s easy to forget music is expression, and though many scoff at borrowing from the past, Thee Tsunamis do just that without outright stealing. This isn’t some skinny tattooed charlatan reciting GG Allin or a college professor hitting on the sensitive sorority sister with words from edward estlin, just honest observations translated through the simplest motions: those of the hips on the stage of the dance floor. Now you can remember Thee Tsunamis as three pretty ladies and their good-time pals and realize they don’t live in the shadow of any of it. They do their own thing; at their own pace, and before you know what’s happened you’ll be caught in the wave. Call it what you like, just recognize good music when it washes over you.
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