I’d call it melodic superpunk. It’s enough pop that it’s radio friendly, but it’s not quite like anything that’s on the radio. Thunderbirds Are Now! isthe latest hot thing to come out of the Motor City, and it’s all real. I can’t stop listening to their latest. Get in line, because their newest release Make History comes out on October 3, 2006.

Singer/Guitarist Ryan Allen says, “We live off of pop music. Some Beatles for breakfast, a little Smiths for lunch, and the Pixies for dinner. Sometimes we’ll have a little New Pornographers for a midnight snack.” That settled it. I had to hear it myself.

The album pulses with energy. I’m impressed with the consistency of this record. With a lot of the music that I come across, I find a couple of great tracks surrounded by mediocrity, but this CD keeps on delivering, kind of like the Energizer Bunny.

When the CD does come out, look for track 1, Panthers in Crime. This track has a really hooky and melodic start, but jumps right into an energetic and lively beat that you just can’t help but smile at. Others that I particularly liked are the live title track (The Making Of…) Make History, and the politically charged Why We War, with lyrics like “Fists come out like a barroom brawl… we don’t know what we want but we want it all”. It’s a powerful musical statement, and has already made it onto my iPod (did I mention it’s fun to listen to?).

I have yet to see them live, but fortunately we’ll get that chance, with a few gigs around the country as they’re soon to kick off a tour to support their record release. This one’s worth checking out - listen for yourself at their MySpace page, and we’ll see you at the record release party.

• 7/28/06 @ The Temple Club, Lansing, MI (w/ Ted Leo/Pharmacists & the Jai Lai Savant)
• 8/3/06 The Toledo Indie Pop Fest @ Vamps in Toledo, OH (w/The Poison Control Center, Fred Thomas, Fishboy, the Homeville Circle, Math the Band, The Smittens, Those Transatlantics, The Mathletes & Actual Birds)
• 8/4/06 @ The Glacier Room, Traverse City, MI (w/Javelins & Victor! Fix the Sun)
• 8/5/06 @ Flint Local 432, Flint, MI (w/Eli Whitney & the Cotton Gin, Javelins, Empty Orchestra, The Fluff & Bird Dog)
• 9/23/06 Make History CD Release Party @ The Magic Stick, Detroit, MI (w/Anathallo)

  There are many more dates on the tour, and they’re cutting a pretty wide swath of Canada and the Western US. through November.

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